In the Shadow of the Bat
by shanejayell
Summary: One year later Gotham is both the same and different than it was. Chapter one: Batwoman & Question
1. Batwoman And Question

Disclaimer: the characters of Batwoman, the Question and related cast all belong to DC Comics, I'm just borrowing them for awhile.

Batwoman and Question: Alliance

Batwoman swung over Gotham City, Kate Kane smiling to herself slightly as the red and black clad heroine made a final sweep of the city. 'Just need to check by Beacon Hill and I'll head for home...' she mused.

A light flickered, then played across the clouds, a stylized black bat in a disk of yellow light. It shimmered on the clouds, bright against the darkness and a symbol of hope from the mny times it had shone from the Gotham City Police department.

Oddly, this beam was not coming from the Gotham police.

With a muttered curse Batwoman changed her course, feeling fairly certain who was shining that light. Swinging up to a park on the edge of Beacon Hill she was a newer model van waiting, a figure shrouded in strange mists standing nearby holding the powerful lamp. His clothes were a bulky trench coat and suit, a old fashioned hat just above a eerily faceless mask, all making up the man commonly called the Question.

'Just the Question? So where's ...?' Batwoman thought as she dropped down gracefully to the ground beside him. "What do you want," she demanded in her coldest, old money voice, "and where's Renee?"

"Right here," Question pressed a button on his large belt buckle, a different color gas sprayed out then he pulled free the faceless mask... to reveal a very familiar face.

"Renee?" Batwoman blinked at her in surprise, doing her best to avoid showing any of her confusion.

The black haired, dark skinned Renee Montoya smiled at her wryly as she tucked the unusual mask away in a pocket. "Still getting used to that," she murmured, "wonder how Charlie managed for so long?"

"What's going on?" Batwoman asked, feeling a mix of relief and annoyance at seeing Renee again. Of course she almost always felt mixed feelings around Renee, her ex-lover and the one that got away, so to speak.

"It's a long story," Renee sighed, "and not something we can go into now." She looked at Batwoman seriously, "Last night, you hit a drug operation run by the Shark. How did you find out about it?"

Batwoman frowned, wondering where this was going. "I shook down one of the Shark's goons," she said, "he spilled the beans."

"That's what I thought," Renee sighed. She met Batwoman's gaze, "The truth is the goon you questioned worked for Thorne... they used you to hit a rival drug dealer."

"What?" Batwoman scowled, "How do you know this?"

Renee shrugged as she reminded her, "I am a detective."

Batwoman clenched her fists as her thoughts raced, wishing that what Renee had told her wasn't true. Sadly, it all fit together too well, how easily the goon had broken, the detailed information he gave up to her... at the time it should have stank to high heavens, but she was just too eager to act.

Giving Renee a wary look Batwoman asked, "Why are you telling me this?"

Renee gave her a smile, the sort of one that had once caused Kate's heart to skip a beat. "I want to offer my help in exchange for yours," Renee explained, "I'll be your detective, and together we'll deal with bastards like Thorne."

Reluctantly Batwoman wrestled with the idea, but it did make a great deal of sense. "All right," she said reluctantly, "I'll do it."

"Good," Renee took something from the pocket of her overcoat and tossed it to Batwoman, "I'll contact you when I know more."

Catching the small radio Batwoman frowned, "What if I need to reach you?"

Renee touched a control on her belt and gas swirled out, blinding Batwoman as her voice said, "Well, that is... the Question."

Once the mist cleared Batwoman saw that Renee, the van and her improvised batsignal were gone, only the empty park left behind. With a scowl she took her grappling hook and line and sent herself flying between buildings, trying to see where Renee had disappeared to.

'So,' Batwoman mused as she reluctantly gave up the search and swung away from Beacon Hill a few minutes later, 'it looks like Renee and I will be partners again.' A slightly grim smile tugged at her lips, her long hair flowing in the breeze as she thought wryly, 'I hope this goes better than our last partnership.'

Once upon a time Kate and Renee had been lovers, a wild and dangerous affair that had gone on for months. In the end it had been both of their closets that had ended the relationship, though neither of them would have admitted it. Kate had gone on with her life, dating covertly and living the society life, but she had never forgotten Renee.

Swinging gracefully from one of the many gargoyles in the city Batwoman admitted to herself, 'I'm looking forward to being with her again.'

Meanwhile, Renee Montoya pulled the van to the side of the road, ducking into the back as she muttered, "This outfit is going to take some getting used to."

Shedding the garb of the Question helped restore her curves, the padded clothes that Renee wore in her other identity designed to make her gender ambiguous. Renee wanted people to be unsure if she was the first Question or not, using the reputation of the Question to her advantage as she sought answers to her own questions.

In regular pants and a buttoned white shirt Renee returned to the wheel, thinking a moment of the woman she had just left behind. She was less sure about working with Batwoman than she had acted, and Renee still felt a odd stirring in her chest when she and Kate talked. Their past hung between them like a kind of ghost, a mass of regrets and what might have beens.

'Speaking of regrets,' Renee thought, pulling up her van to the restaurant that she hadn't seen in months. She parked the van and got out, checking her watch as she took a breath of the morning air as she checked her watch, 'She should be here soon...'

Walking up the street in her cooks's uniform there was a spring to her step, a sense of simple happiness that the other woman carried. She was good looking though not beautiful in the traditional sense, but there was something about her that drew the eye.

"Daria," Renee called, standing nervously beside her van.

"Renee?" Daria looked startled, and to be honest Renee couldn't blame her. It had been nearly a year since they had seperated, Renee's drinking and guilt having driven them apart. Now the other woman looked at her searchingly, "Are you... all right?"

"Yeah," Renee felt more than a bit of guilt that she hadn't at least tried to contact Daria sooner. 'Of course,' she thought wryly, 'for the last few months I've been helping the Question fight Intergang, chasing down the Crime Bible around the world and generally living a odd life.' She smiled tentatively, "How are you?"

"Good, I'm good," Daria smiled a bit uncomfortably. She fiddled with her white uniform then asked, "Renee, what are you doing here?"

Renee sighed, knowing that this moment was coming and that she had to do it. Mustering her courage she met Daria's eyes and said, "I'm sorry."

"Huh?" Daria blinked in surprise.

"I really screwed up our relationship and I just wanted to say I'm sorry," Renee said. "I was a complete ass the last month we were together, and I can't blame you for leaving me, though I do hope you'll forgive me in time."

"I knew how much everything with Detective Allen hurt you," Daria said gently, "and I just wished I could have helped you more." A faint smile, "Not to be mean, but you've never been the apologizing type..."

Renee smiled back, "I'm in AA, have been for a few weeks. One of the steps is trying to make amends with those you hurt... but I'd have come seen you anyway, I think."

"I'm glad," Daria said. She hesitated, "I'm seeing someone, Renee."

"I know," Renee nodded.

Daria frowned suddenly, "How do you know that?"

"I asked around," a slight smile tugged at Renee's lips, "you know how the grapevine works, Dee."

Daria chuckled softly, "True."

Renee said quietly, "I've got to go, see you around?"

"I think I'd like that," Daria nodded as they parted.

End

Notes: This is based off events in DC Comics' books Gotham Central and 52, including the possibility that Renee is being trained as a new Question. The idea of partnering up Batwoman and Renee as crimefighters seems obvious, and I'm intrigued by their past relationship as lovers, too. In Gotham Central Renee left her lover Daria on bad terms, so I wanted to resolve that in some form. May be continued...


	2. Spoiler: Then and Now

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters from the Batman comic books, I'm merely borrowing them for awhile. This is loosely based on the 'War Games' and 'War Crimes' stories, but should be considered an alternate universe.

Spoiler: Then And Now

Stephanie Brown smiled wryly as the blonde returned to the tent, ducking under a canvas flap as she quietly asked, "Is he gone?"

"Batman's left, yes," Dr. Leslie Thompkins said, the older woman turning in her seat to look over the girl thoughtfully. "You look like you've recovered your strength," she said.

"I'm getting there," Steph sat down in another chair with a soft sigh. "Do you think he knows?" she asked.

"That I helped fake your death?" Leslie smiled at her grimly, "Probably."

"How do you know?" Steph's eyes widened.

"Despite his claiming that I'm just another criminal in his database," Leslie said with a grim sort of amusement, "if he had been serious, he'd have dragged me back to Gotham to stand trial, my rights be damned."

"I'm sorry," Steph said quietly, "helping me has cost you a lot."

"No," Leslie shook her head, "helping you was simply a extension of what I've done all my life." She smiled gently, "And to be honest, I had reached my breaking point in Gotham... I don't know how much longer I could have gone on."

They both sat in companionable silence for a moment, each of them lost to their thoughts under an African sky. For Spoiler it was thinking of all the mistakes that she had made, the rash decisions that had lead her to becoming Spoiler, then Robin and finally beginning a gang war that very nearly ruined Gotham.

For Leslie, her memories of Gotham were bittersweet. She regretted leaving the city, sometimes, but she also knew that to save her own sanity she had to go. Watching Bruce, a boy that she looked on as her own son, waging his war on crime as Batman without concern to the cost to himself and others was slowly eating at her. Even her deep relationship with Alfred wasn't enough to balance that anymore, and she had to get out.

"So," Leslie looked at Steph, "what are you going to do now?"

"Design a new costume, return to Gotham and beat the snot out of Black Mask," Steph answered promptly.

"What?" Leslie sputtered before realizing that Steph was joking. "Bad girl," she scolded, sounding almost motherly.

"Sorry, couldn't resist," Steph grinned.

"So, what now?" Leslie asked.

"I would like to contact my mother somehow," Steph conceded, "and I'm not sure if I believe my dad is really dead..."

"It is hard to know in the business you and Bruce were in," Leslie conceded.

"So there's that," Steph looked troubled, "but I wish I could let Babs and the others know I'm alive."

"You know what would happen then, though," Leslie said, "you'll be worried about them, something bad will happen in Gotham and... you'll be right back into the life again."

"I know," Steph sighed as she got up, "I know." Quietly leaving the tent the blonde said, "I'm turning in for the night."

"Good night," Leslie said as Steph walked away. Quietly, almost under her breath Leslie added, "She will go back... I know it."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

One year later and Gotham City was much the same... a mix of bright, shining newness from Luthor's reconstruction, pits of ruin from poorly repaired earthquake damage and filled with people trying to make it through the night. That was the city that Stephanie Brown returned to, with a new look and a new purpose.

'Well, this is cute,' Steph though, the black haired young woman frowning as she saw the chicken hawks circling the bus station. With a innocent manner she strolled forward, pretending not to notice or care about the men, her shorts and t-shirt giving her a youthful look.

"Hey, pretty lady, wanna earn a few bucks?" the tall blonde purred, his rake thin ody leaning in close to her.

"Really, how?" Steph smiled in a vacuous way.

"Just come over here," he lead her towards a alley, "an I'll show you..."

"Sure," Steph fought back a satisfied smile as they moved out of the sight of the people around the busy bus station.

"Now you just..." he started right before Steph punched him in the head. "Ack," he staggered backward as he clutched at his bleeding nose.

"Not so easy, hmm?" Steph stepped forward to punch him in the belly, then used a leg sweep to send him crashing to the floor.

"Wha' th; f'ck..." he tried to crawl away.

"Shut up," Steph said then struck again, mercifully knocking him out.

"Nicely done," the voice said from up above her.

"I wondered when you'd decide to show yourself," Steph looked up at the figure crouched on the rooftop.

Dressed in black and red Batwoman smoothly leapt down, her red boots barely making a sound as she landed by Steph's side. "And here I thought I was going to have to rescue you, young lady," she said, the redhead looking amused.

"So why did you wait?" Steph asked curiously as the man at her feet groaned softly, edging back to wakefulness.

With a simple grace Batwoman kicked him in the head, knocking him out completely. "Just making sure you were all righ," she said mildly.

Steph winced, then smiled. "Dorry," she said, "I'm used to people in bat-costumes having ulterior motives."

Batwoman actually looked amused, "I think I know what you mean." Taking a device from her belt she aimed it at the wall far above and fired, sending a cable hissing into the night. "Good luck," and with that she was off.

Steph smiled cheerfully as she left the alley, a bit of a bounce to her step. 'It feels good to meet a nice bat,' she thought with some amusement. Still, she was careful to take a round about route to her hotel, just in case she was being followed. The Batwoman seemed nice, but you should always be careful.

"Hundred a night," the bored young man sitting behind the desk said, not looking up from reading his newspaper.

"Cash," Steph asked, sliding a hundred dollar bill out from her wallet.

"Thanks," he said, eyes taking on a eager shine as his thoughts raced.

"Don't even think about it," Steph purred, something in her manner suddenly dangerous.

"Ah, right," he gulped, the black haired man nervously returning to his paper once he handed her the key.

"Thank you," Steph smiled sweetly.

The top floor room was, miracle of miracles, clean and smelled all right as Steph entered, dropping her single suitcase on the bed and walking over to open up the window. The night air of Gotham was like a old friend, embracing her as she leaned out the window, eyes half closed as she savored the sensations.

"Well," Steph finally pulled back reluctantly, "I think it's time to tour the city."

Striding over to her suitcase she popped it open, unpacking clothes easily. Reaching the bottom she paused, then tapped a certain pattern on the hard metal lining. With a soft sound the lining popped up, revealing a mostly black uniform hidden beneath it.

Stripping down to her bra and panties Steph donned the full undersuit first, black armor that could stop a bullet, yet was still light weight and flexable. She pulled on dark purple gloves, each going up to her forearm, then matching boots in a more swashbuckler style. Finally the over-the-shoulder golden belt, loaded with crime fighting equipment both new and inherited from her earlier outings.

"All right," Spoiler said as she pulled on her black mask, then tugged on her purple hooded cape, "now let's see if a year;'s training has actually paid off." With that the dark clad woman closed her suitcase, turned and gracefully leapt from the window, firing off a batline then swinging out over the city...

To be continued...

Notes: Dr. Leslie Thompkins appearance in War Crimes as SO far OOC it sickened me. A woman who had been shown up till then as a dedicated doctor and healer suddenly decided to let Steph die to teach Bruce a lesson. RIGHT. Anyway, this is my attempt to resolve that, as well as reintroduce a more capable Spoiler. So how did she go from faking her death & fleeing gotham to returning a hero One Year Later? Wait and see.


	3. Alias, the Spider

Alias, the Spider

"What a day," the black haired woman sighed as she entered the hotel room. She was tall, nearly six foot, and also very fit, though not unfeminine in her shape. Her jeans hugged her hips and a leather jacket fluttered as she moved, revealing a red shirt beneath it.

"Teresa Ludlow-Dalt?" the voice asked from the shadows.

Spinning around Teresa saw a shadowy figure standing on the fire escape, his black cape swirling around his body. A massive and muscular man his mask had stylized horns, a golden disk on his otherwise grey costume containing a black bat emblem.

"God, not you too?!" Teresa declared, surprisingly unimpressed by the dark knight. "The Question and Batwoman warned me off when I hit town, the Huntress intercepted my taxi and the Invisible Hood haunted me in the library." She paused, "The Invisible Hood, for god's sake? I thought he was dead!"

Batman just watched her calmly, his seemingly white eyes glowing in the shadows.

"And all of you idiots need to get up to date," Teresa tossed her bag to the bed angrily, "I am NOT the Spider! I have no intention of following in my villainous family's footsteps." She sighed suddenly, "I don't even like spiders..."

"That's not why I contacted you," Batman said calmly, seemingly unaffected by her sudden outburst.

Teresa sat down on the bed in her little room, feeling suddenly tired. Five super hero meeting in as many hours had taken their toll, and it had already been a long day. "So why are you here?" she asked.

"While he was active as the Spider your father made a lot of enemies," Batman said calmly, "several of whom knew about his secret identity. It appears that one or more of them... are targeting you."

"You have got to be kidding me," Teresa said weakly. She scowled as she explained, "I'm only here trying to research a book on the Ludlows, and how stupid it is to be a super-villain! Why me?!"

"In the absence of your father or brothers they seem to think you're a fair target," Batman answered coolly. AS he turned to go he said, "Watch yourself... if needed you can use the uniform in your luggage. It's bullet proof, at least."

"Hey, how did you know my crazy mother packed that for me?" Teresa called out to him in surprise.

"I make it my business to know," Batman answered before the dark figure disappeared into the Gotham night.

"You've got to be kidding me," Teresa sighed, flopping back on her bed.

Teresa Ludlow-Dalt was the inheritor of a long legacy. Sadly, it was a mostly BAD legacy. The Ludlow clan had made their way in the world, not to mention a lot of money, by being utter scoundrels and cheats. Over the years they had built quite a knack for evil, and it came to a head in Tom Ludlow-Dalt.

A smuggler, kidnapper and murderer, Tom adopted the Spider identity to eliminate his competition, not help people out. Killing 'criminals' ruthlessly Tom still managed to maintain a illusion of heroism, even joining the Seven Soldiers of Victory only to betray the team for his own personal glory. In the end Tom bit off more than he could chew, attempting to frame the original Flash for murder and being killed by the villainous Shade.

However, Tom had kids, two sons and a daughter. Raised by a mother who was morbidly fascinated by her husband's villainy she trained her kids unknowingly to follow in their Daddy's footsteps, the boys adopting the Spider identity and both of them coming to bad ends. Mom even approached Teresa, but she had surprised the old bat with a firm no.

Still, her mother continued to try to turn Teresa into a new Spider. She had even packed the Spider costume into her daughter's luggage, concealing it in the same compartment that Teresa used to hide her valuables. It was all somewhat ridiculous, not to mention oddly pitiful.

"Never mind," Teresa murmured to herself tiredly as she got up to undress, "I'm sure things will look clearer in the morning."

Not long after sunrise Teresa found herself once again at the Gotham Library, silently marveling at the size of the collection. In addition to the usual references the library had a surprising amount of material on super criminals, an invaluable resource for a researcher like Teresa. The Spider was mostly listed as a hero, but records of the Ludlow family villainy were both plentiful and a bit chilling.

"Here you go, ma'am," the young man dropped off the latest stack of books to Teresa's's cluttered work area.

"Thank you," Teresa's smiled, her long hair pulled back into a pony tail.

"Call if you need anything else,:" he said, disappearing between the shelves. "Hey," he sounded surprised, "what are you...?"

Hearing a thud Teresa's looked up in alarm, only to see a man dressed in replica armor charge towards her. "What in the?!" she got up, even as the blond haired man swung a very real sword right at her!

"For the seven soldiers!" he cried even as Teresa's ducked beneath the wild swing. The sword continued it's path to thud into the wall, becoming stuck. "Oh no," the man tugged weakly on the hilt.

"Oh yes," Teresa's swung with all her might, connecting with his jaw with a loud crack. The man's eyes rolled up into his head, then he slid bonelessly to the ground.

"Die, spawn of the evil one," the man dressed in red cape and old fashioned hat cried as he hurried up, raising a pistol.

With remarkable speed Teresa's kicked out to send the gun flying as she snapped, "Not today." Grabbing him by the front of his business suit she slapped the guy up against a book shelf, "Who are you? Why are you doing this?"

"You should know," the masked man head butted her, sending Teresa's reeling backward.

"Bastard," Teresa's shook her head, trying to clear the burst of pain. Seeing the man flee the room she grabbed at her bag, her thoughts racing. 'The Seven Soldiers... you've got to be kidding me,' she thought.

The Seven Soldiers of Victory were a 1940's era team of heroes that Teresa's had researched for their connection to her dad, all fairly unusual by nature. The Crimson Avenger and Wing, pulp style heroes, the Star-spangled Kid and Stripsey who were patriotic types, the time lost Sir Justin the Shining Knight, Vigilante of the old west and his partner Stuff had all fought beside the Spider... and now it looked like someone very like them was after HER.

'The first looked like he was copying Sir Justin,' Tessa thought as she stuffed her notes into her bad, 'the other looked like the Crimson Avenger, sorta. That means there may be five more nuts after me.'

Hurrying past the elevator Teresa's opened the stairway only to duck under a flying kick. "For the Seven!" the Asian boy yelled, taking up a fighting stance.

"Wing, right?" Tessa asked. "Look," she said in exasperation, "I'm not connected to the Spider! I don't want anything to do with you!"

"You're a Ludlow," Wing answered coldly, "blood tells."

"Oh shut up," Teresa's growled as she whipped a book out of her bag and beaned him with it right between the eyes.

Picking up her book Teresa's put it in her hag, her hand lingering on the bundle of cloth she had stuffed in there this morning. After a moment's deliberation she moved to a darkened corner of the stairway, and began to change.

Outside the door at the bottom of the stairs a boy in star covered clothes asked, "What's taking so long, Stripsey?"

"Dunno, Star-spangled kid," Stripsey said, the muscle man's shirt bearing his namesake's red and white stripes.

"Hyah!" a crossbow bolt exploded the door, sending both stars and stripes flying backwards.

"Holy shit," Star-spangled kid gulped.

"You wanted the Spider," Teresa's said as she pulled the mask in place, her blue costume clinging to her curves, "you've got her." Reloading a explosive arrow into the collapsible crossbow her mother gave her Spider asked, "Who wants some?"

"Uh," Stripsey looked at the Kid then they both bolted.

Following them outside Spider froze, blinking in surprise at several unconscious figures being watched over by the faceless figure known as the Question. "Sorry about this," the mist shrouded figure said, "Huntress and Batwoman are just rounding up the last of them."

"Thank god," Spider sighed.

"Not so fast," Question smiled wryly, "seems the Seven Soldiers had quite a fan club. These mooks are just the tip of the iceberg."

"Guess I'll need to keep this costume handy?" Spider sighed.

"Looks like it," Batwoman said as she swept down, the black and red clad heroine striking even in daylight.

"Well, guess I'll be doing some hands on research for my book," Spider sighed. 'If I ever meet you in the afterlife, dad,' Teresa's thought, 'I'm going to kick your butt.'

To be continued...

Notes: Alias, the Spider was originally a ruthless hero in the golden age of comics, who was revised in the last Starman series. His origin is pretty much as told here, tho I added his having a daughter. Also, both sons seem to be alive in the comics, out getting into trouble of one type or another.


	4. Birds of Prey and Question

Birds of Prey & Question

Kneeling there on a rooftop, watching a building through binoculars, the faceless Question found a odd thought scampering through her head. 'How does that costume stay on?' Renee Montoya wondered beneath her mask.

The purple and black clad Huntress crouched beside the Question on the roof, her bodysuit clinging to her like bodypaint. In addition there was a large cut out revealing her muscled belly, thigh high boots and multiple pouches for various pieces of equipment. In short she was a dangerous combination of sexy and lethal.

"Your contact is sure about this?" Question asked gruffly, her simple business suit and trench coat obscuring her gender a bit.

"Trust me," Huntress confidently replied as they both watched the warehouse below them, "she knows."

'She heard from Oracle, probably,' Question silently mused. As a member of the Gotham police department Renee had heard rumors about an information service for super humans, providing assistance to those in need, and her own researches had dug up the name Oracle. "Is Black Canary around?" Question asked.

Huntress looked at Question in surprise, "How did you know about...?"

"I ask questions," Question smiled slightly. "You're partners, yes?"

"Something like that," Huntress agreed. "Excuse me," she stepped back, murmuring under her breath softly.

'I really need to learn to read lips,' Question thought as she return to looking out over the building, 'wonder if she's communicating with Oracle somehow?'

One of Thorne's dealers had claimed there was a major deal going on here tonight, so Renee had gone to investigate as the Question. Along the way she ran into Huntress.. Tho more acurately you could say they got into a brawl. Huntress had a past association with the original Question, which may have had something to do with it, but either way she had attacked Question on sight. Huntress was a good, if undisciplined, fighter while Renee was more of a street brawler, but she held her own in part thanks to her training by Richard Dragon.

Huntress returned a moment later, her long black hair flowing in the breeze. "What happened to Vic?" she suddenly asked.

'Yes, she knows I'm not the original,' Renee thought. "Vic Sage died of lung cancer," she said with real regret, "before I could get him to help in Nanda Parbat. His last wish was that I take up the mantle of the Question."

"Damn it," Huntress cursed softly. A gloved hand clenched into a fist, "Why didn't he come to one of us for help?"

Renee hesitated a moment. "Maybe," Question said gently, "because it was in his nature to think of others first?"

Huntress paused, her lips lifting in a slight smile as she remembered other times with the Question and said, "True."

There was a flash of light within the darkness of the building as Question declared, "Something's happening!" Raising her binoculars Renee zoomed in on the suddenly lit section, seeing two men lit by a small flashlight.

"What are they doing?" Huntress asked, pressing a switch on her mask and activating what looked like built in lenses.

"Looks like they're exchanging money for a briefcase," Question rose smoothly as she said shortly, "let's move."

Huntress leapt off the side of the building with a almost suicidal grace, her cape billowing out to slow her fall. She hit the ground and was off, racing towards the door they saw the men go inside the building through.

'I have got to get me one of those capes,' Question though to herself wryly as she climbed down using the emergency ladder bolted to the side of the building. After a moment she headed the other way, Renee hurrying towards the other door.

The man pushed open the door, his clothes dusty from the long out of use warehouse, as he said, "With these we can start making our name."

'Two of them,' Question thought as she moved fast, rushing in to slug the first man as her trademark smoke swirled about them.

"Hey, what the," the other man fumbled with the briefcase, popping it open to reveal several exotic looking weapons.

'Crap,' Renee instantly recognized the ray guns as Intergang issue, having run into them along with Vic. "Bad boy," Question kicked out at the case and sent it flying into the darkness of a nearby alley, but not before he could grab hold of a gun. 'Uh oh,' Renee thought as she ducked the first shot.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

The sound seemed to come from everywhere as the man staggered back with a cry, the gun exploding in a shower of sparks. Focusing past her pain from the boise Quesrtion moved in, giving the goon a right cross that send him crashing to the ground.

Turning to see the woman walking up the alley towards her Question asked, "Black Canary, I presume?"

"Huntress radioed me," the blonde carrying the weapons case smiled, her simple black bodysuit clinging to her body as Black Canary continued, "she took down the weapons dealer but missed the others."

Together, both women secured the unconscious men as Renee put a anonymous call into the Police department reporting them. "Good," Question nodded as they walked away, "now we just have to hope Oracle can help find out where they got the Intergang weapons."

"You know Oracle?" Black Canary looked intreagued.

"Heard of her," Question answered honestly.

Black Canary reached up to touch her ear and listen to something only she could hear as a slight smile teased her lips. "Come on," she said as she turned and lead the way, "Huntress will meet us on the roof."

"More climbing," Renee muttered, "great."

A wind whipped across the roof as Huntress watched them climb up, the wind whipping her cape around. "About time you got here," she said.

"What's causing the wind?" Renee asked, the breeze making the Question's trench coat flap about wildly.

As if on cue a helicopter seemed to almost appear from mid air, some kind of distortion field fading as it smoothly dropped, settling on the building's roof. The door on the side of the copter slid aside to reveal a tall blonde in black leather military jacket and mini skirt, her grin infectious as she said, "All aboard!"

"Welcome to the Aerie two," Black Canary waved for Question to get on board, "I'd like you to meet our pilot, Lady Blackhawk."

Question blinked as she whispered, "THE Lady Blackhawk? As in World War Two?"

"Don't bring that up too much," Huntress hissed.

Clearing her throat Question smiled under her mask as she said, "It's good to meet you."

"Thanks," Lady Blackhawk too the pilot seat as she added, "heads up, incoming message from the boss."

'How...?' Question wondered before a soft glow appeared in mid air, soon resolving into a holographic image of a stylized full face mask. The mask was a icon that hackers around the world had come to know and respect, often striking covertly against the criminals of the world.

"Question," the voice seemed to come from the mask, "my name is Oracle."

'Distorted voice,' Question noted, 'interesting.' Aloud she said, "It's a honor to meet you face to face, more or less."

"Thank you," there was faint amusement in the Oracle voice. Briskly she continued, "The gun sale you stopped..."

"Was Intergang imported weapons," Question supplied calmly. "If they're anything like the blasters I encountered earlier it'd be a bad idea if they hit the street."

"One for the new guy," Huntress whispered to Black Canary.

"We're keeping score?" Black Canary chuckled.

"Of course," Lady Blackhawk grinned.

"Enough from the peanut gallery," Oracle said with what almost sounded like a laugh. "I don't normally bring outside agents into a operation," she said, "but you seem to be familiar with Intergang already."

"We've had a few run ins," Question said dryly.

"And if they're packing weapons like those ray guns," Black Canary noted a bit reluctantly, "we could use the extra help."

"That too," Oracle agreed. "Well?"

Renee thought a moment, but knew there was no choice. "I want to know why they're trying this again after Vic, Batwoman and I stopped them before," Question said firmly, "I'm in."

"Then let's go," Lady Blackhawk declared as the copter started up then almost silently soared off into the night sky.

To be continued...

Notes: I'm pretty much ignoring the OYL disappearance of Dinah and replacement in the Birds by Lady Shiva. It can be assumed that Dinah, in this version, decided it was best to not follow Shiva's path and remained a BOP.


	5. Spoiler: Revealed

Spoiler: Revealed

The woman clad in black moved soundlessly across the rooftop, her purple cape flowing in the night breeze. Waiting until she was near the figure crouching there on the roof she said, "I was sorry to hear about Superboy."

Robin seemed quite unsurprised as he turned, black hair cut short as he met her eyes. "Thank you," he said, unfolding from his crouch in his new black and red costume. He looked at her searchingly, "Is that you under there?"

Spoiler willingly pulled the hood of her costume back and removed her mask, revealing her dyed black hair and the familiar features of Stephanie Brown. "You look good, Tim," she said, the Gotham breeze stirring her hair.

"Damn," Tim Drake murmured as he stepped forward to hug her firmly, the gesture a odd mix of friendly and the tinges of their former romance. "Damn it," he murmured as they drew back, "I thought you were dead!"

Steph smiled wryly, "Black Mask nearly pulled it off. A friend got me out of the city, and it took a while for me to recover."

Tim's eyes narrowed a moment, his detective's brain quickly making connections. "Leslie Thompkins," he deduced, "she faked your death?"

"Hmm," Steph smiled slightly, not confirming or denying it. "I need to know something," she said softly, "what happened to Batgirl?" Tim seemed to wince slightly as she continued, "I haven't been able to find her, and the few contacts who seem to know anything seem to be too scared of her to talk."

Tim sighed softly, looking away out at the towers and rooftops of Gotham. "She's gone bad," he admitted reluctantly, "it seems like she's leading the League of Assassins."

"Not possible," Steph said after a moment.

Tim shook his head, his expression serious, "I had a run in with her myself. She killed her father, Kain, and wanted me to join them too."

Steph nodded, her eyes narrowed. "Tell me what happened," she asked intently, "I need to know everything."

Tim recounted in as much detail as he could their encounter even as he gazed worriedly at Steph. "You aren't going to do anything rash, are you?" he asked.

Steph gave him a look that could only be described as withering. "Trust me, I learned my lesson from playing with Batman's wargames file," she said dryly.

"Sorry," he said. A moment's pause and he added, "If you are going to act, let me know. I'd like to help."

Steph put her mask back on, stretching a bit as she readied herself to move. "If I am going to look for her, I think it'd be on my own," she confessed.

"Oh?" Tim frowned.

Steph drew her hood up, leaving her face in shadow. "She was my friend," Spoiler said simply, "if I am going to reach her, it'll be with that."

"Either way," Tim said, putting his own Robin mask back on, "be carefull."

Without warning Spoiler leapt, her cape billowing out as she said, "Will do."

Tim jerked, almost firing off a batline to catch her, then he saw her cape fill with air, slowing her fall as she fired off a cable of her own and swung out into the Gotham night. "That's no homemade costume," Robin murmured, "there's some serious tech in that suit."

Spoiler felt a certain amount of satisfaction at surprising Robin, but that feeling was soon buried by her mixed feelings about Batgirl. Cassandra Cain had been a close friend of hers, both of them outsiders in Batman's family, as well as feeling a degree of opposites atracting. The quiet, intense Cass had drawn Steph to show her fun and games, and they had discovered much enjoyment out of it.

'But could she really have gone bad?' Spoiler wondered as she reached a rooftop in one of the more run down section's of Gotham. Gracefully she touched a hidden keypad, fingers flying as she entered the codes and the skylight opened to her home and headquarters.

The attic wasn't terribly high tech, other than the roof access. There was a small lab where she made the gas mix she used in her belt capsules, smoke bombs and a work bench she tinkered together batarrangs and other pieces of gear. Off to one side was her bedroom, including wardrobe and a make-up table for any disguises she needed on the job.

'Wonder how Batman and the others would react to my robbing the crooks I bring in of their money?' Spoiler wondered as she hung her utility belt on it's rack. Deciding not to draw on Leslie's money in sponsoring her activities she had decided to fund her operation by stealing drug money as well as other illegal funds, a morally questionable decision.

Dressing in street gear she headed downstairs to her cover apartment and identity, the freelance artist Steph Black, and smiled as she greeted friends in the building. "Hi Holly," Steph nodded as she passed the brown haired woman on the street.

"Hey Steph," Holly Robinson smiled back, her lover Karon by her side.

Continuing on Steph ducked into the coffee bar on the corner, scanning the place for friends and contacts. Seeing who she wanted Steph cut across the room, smiling slightly as she sat in the booth as she said, "Hi Cat."

Catalina Flores gave Steph a wary look, the black haired older woman drinking her coffee in a casual manner. "Something I can do for you?" she asked flatly.

Catalina Flores was a ex-superhero, something that Steph could relate to, but Cat had gone bad. Adopting the identity of the Tarantula she had been a hero in Bludhaven, but had allowed herself to be manipulated by Blockbuster for her own reasons. Worse, she had killed Blackbuster then hooked up with Nightwing, using the man to escape the 'Haven afterward. Ultimately Nightwing brought her in, and in a strange twist of fate she had been away from the city when it was nuked by the Society.

Steph took a roll of cash from her pocket, setting it down hidden from view bu Cat's cup. "Just some information," sde said evenly.

Cat covertly collected her money, sliding it away. In a much more friendly manner she asked, "How can I help?"

'How far they fall,' Steph thought but carefully kept any of her critisim from showing on her face. "I'm looking for information on Batgirl, the full face mask version."

"Huh," Cat shook her head, "you do not want to mess with her, ma'am."

Steph smiled wryly at the woman's unconscious respectful tone. "That's up to me to decide," she answered calmly.

"There's lots of stories, but most agree she's some kind of ninja," Cat mused, "maybe a refugee from the League of Assassins. She was taken in by Batman, supposedly, but couldn't fight off her dark nature."

'Cat's a bit of a romantic,' Steph thought with amusement.

"According to rumors Batgirl's back with the League, maybe running the place," Cat said. She frowned, "Supposedly there was some kind of war in the League, but the stories say they're back up to full strength."

"They based in Gotham?" Steph wondered.

"You think the Bat would allow that?" Cat raised a eyebrow questioningly.

"Heh, good point," Steph acknowledged.

"I have heard rumors of a place in the college town of New Carthrage," Cat added, "not far from Gotham."

"Thanks," Steph nodded, "if that pans out, I'll give you a bonus."

Cat hesitated, "I never ask what you do with the information I give you..."

"Yes?" Steph asked.

Cat took a nervous breath, "Would having a costume coming along help?"

Steph looked at Cat in surprise, then smiled slightly. "Not this time," she said, "I'm pretty sneaky. But thanks for the offer."

"You're welcome," Cat said, looking down into her coffee then taking another drink.

"I'll remember it next time," Steph flashed a grin as Cat smiled back.

'Well, that was unexpected,' Steph mused later at a small café where she usually grabbed a late dinner or early breakfast, depending on how one looked at it. 'Wonder if it would be worthwhile to take her on as a redemption project?'

"Did you want a milk shake with that?" the waitress asked curiously.

"Hmm," Steph looked up, just in time to see it was a trap.

The cold gun the woman held fired with a howl of sound, freezing the seat but not Steph, who leapt clear just in time. "Now," the woman in a remarkably sill parka and bathing suit declare, "die at the hands of Lady Chiller!"

"You have got to be kidding," Steph kicked out visciously, sending the gun flying as the girl cried out in pain.

Backing away fearfully Chiller said, "Ah, can we start over?"

Lunging forward Steph grabbed her and demanded "Why?"

"You... you spent marked bills belonging to the Shark's mob," Chiller whimpered, "they wanted you dealt with."

'Guess stealing mob money wasn't such a hot plan,' Steph mused. "Let your buddies know not to try this again," she purred.

"Or?" Chiller weakly asked.

"I'm keeping the freeze gun," Steph answered, "and I'll freeze their balls off."

"Right," Chiller squeaked before leaving in a hurry.

'Just what I needed,' Steph sighed, retrieving the gun, 'still, you can't say my life isn't interesting.'

To be continued...


	6. Batwoman and Question: Catching up

Kate and Renee: Catching up

"About time you got here," Kate Kain teased as the redhead opened the door to her penthouse suite. Set high above one of Gotham's Towers it was a sigh to see, with plush carpeting, lovely furniture and a elegant, understated style.

"Sorry, I got held up in a meeting," Renee Montoya answered as the slim, athletic woman took off her overcoat to reveal a stylish suit, then removing her fedora and letting her brown hair flow free.

"Thanks for coming," Kate leaned forward to kiss Renee lingeringly.

"Hmm," Renee savored the kiss, only letting her go reluctantly. "I should have come back sooner for that kind of greeting."

"Remember that next time you vanish," Kate said as she waved Renee towards the couch.

Renee walked over to the couch with a unconscious kind of athletic grace even as she noted, "I didn't have much choice."

"So," Kate said as she poured them both drinks, "where did you go after you saved my life and stopped Intergang from torching Gotham?"

Renee Montoya smiled back as Kate cat hown, her skirt rising up to show off a flash of lovely leg, "Did the stupid thing and joined the hunt for Black Adam."

Kate shuddered visibly, "Then I'm glad you didn't find him."

Renee sighed softly as she picked up her glass. "He was a good man, once," she remarked, "until they took everything away from him."

"Maybe so," Kate admitted, feeling a bit shaken as she considered everything Renee had gone through in the last year or so. She had gone from being a police officer to being the partner of the question, met legends in the hero and villain community, and eventually adopted the guise of a hero herself.

"I'm glad you recovered, and I wish I could have stayed around," Renee added, looking away uncomfortably.

Kate reached over to squeeze Renee's hand, "Nothing to feel bad about, Renee. I swear, you have guilt down to a science." A smile, "Besides, you even managed to help me preserve my secret identity despite my being stabbed. That takes skill."

"Heh," Renee actually blushed. With a shy smile she added, "Sorry about that stunt I pulled earlier."

"What, fixing the Batsignal and shining it at my home?" Kate looked amused, "At least I knew you were back, even though it took you long enough to actually contact me."

"I had my family to see too," Renee admitted.

Kate looked surprised, "They know about...?"

"Not my being the Question," Renee said, "but they do know I'm a lesbian."

"They didn't take it well," Kate didn't even phrase it as a question.

"No, not at all," Renee agreed, "though the circumstances were pretty stunning." With that she calmly sketched in how Two Face had framed her, outed her then tried to kidnap her to be his girlfriend.

Kate looked at her in stunned disbelief. "I'd heard bits and pieces," she conceded, "but... he knew you were a lesbian, right? What was he thinking?!"

"Dent was crazy," Renee sighed, "I stopped trying to figure it out months ago."

"So, are you talking with your family now?" Kate broght them back to that point.

"Tentatively," Renee put her drink down without having any. "MY brother and I are talking, but my parents are still..."

"It must be hard," Kate said gently.

"Very," Renee agreed. She continued briskly, "I know the beat cops in their area, they keep an eye on them, but that and my brother's reports aren't the same as actually being there."

Kate nodded, thinking a bit guiltily of her own situation. While out to her family her wealthy parents asked her to stay in the closet publically, to help preserve the Kane reputation. It had been that secrecy that broke up her and Renee, all those years ago.

"Did you decide to return to the force?" Kate asked curiously.

"No," Renee said, "after what happened with Corrigan, I can't believe in it the way I did." A grin, "Though Commisioner Gordon did ask me too."

"Hard to turn him down," Kate guessed.

"Oh yeah," Renee agreed warmly, "he's been like a father to me."

Kate looked curious, "How did he take it, by the way?"

Renee surprised her with a laugh. "He gruffly hoped that I'd have better luck than he's had with the fairer sex," she revealed.

Kate shook her head, smiling. "So if you're not rejoining the police," she asked, "how are you managing?"

"Here," Renee took a business card from her pocket and handed it over.

'Montoya Investigations,' Kate read, 'Questions answered. Reasonable rates.' She looked up and asked teasingly, "A bit obvious?"

"I hate to say it," Renee noted, "but most people aren't that smart."

"And the villains?" Kate noted.

"I'll handle that when and if it comes," Renee shrugged slightly, sitting back in her comfortable chair.

Kate rattled the ice in her drink, noting that Renee hadn't had any of her's at all. "Are you...?" she nodded to the glass.

Renee looked embarassed. "I had a bit of a problem when I left the force," she admitted, "I tend to go easy on the stuff, now."

"I'm sorry."

Renee shook her head, "I didn't say no, did I?"

Kate made a impatient sound, setting her glass down with a thump. Meeting Renee's eyes she finally asked the question she had wanted to all night, "So what do we do now?"

"I don't know," Renee sighed.

Over the past year Renee and Kate had been reunited, worked together in costume and out, and slowly healed the painful rift between them. After the Question and Renee saved Kate's life she had took them into her home, nursing the deathly sick Vic Sage even as a romance slowly reignited between Kate and Renee. Shortly after a night together over Christmas Renee had left, determined to save Sage's life, and they had only been reunited after Kate had been kidnaped by Intergang. Renee, in her first oputing as the Question, had saved Kate's life, but then she had vanished once more.

"That's not a very good answer," Kate frowned.

Renee picked up her drink, this time tossing it back with a faint shudder. "Kate, we were in love once," she said, "and I'm scared we're just letting past feelings carry us away."

"I don't think so," Kate shook her head, "in a lot of ways, what we have now is more real than anything we knew before."

"Maybe so," Renee acknowledged, "but I'm a notorious lesbian now, Kate. How is your family going to react to your being seen with me?"

"They'll just have to manage," Kate said dryly, "I refuse to live my life based on preserving the sanctity of the Kaine name."

Renee smiled slightly, "You really have changed."

"You too," Kate nodded, "you aren't saying I told you so, at least."

Renee reached out to take Kate's hand as she said, "All right, we'll give it a shot."

To be continued...

Note: I just finished the end of 52, and I was OVERJOYED to see that both Renee and Kate had made it to the end alive. To my annoyance they had a sequence involving them meeting that contradicted my first chapter to this fic, so I've tried to include that. :)


	7. Batgirl: Hard Choices

Batgirl: Hard Choices

The hall was hidden deep beneath the sleepy college town of New Carthage, the remnant of some old fall out shelter that was remade to fit their darker purpose. The floor was covered with rugs, the walls by tapestries depicting great battles and lanterns lit up the men and women who were kneeling there, waiting.

She stalked out of the shadows dressed all in black, moving like a cat soundlessly and gracefully to the podium up above the floor. Short black hair fell into her eyes, her face a mix of races, but whoever she was she commanded instant respect. "Begin," Cassandra Cain ordered, studying them intently.

Almost instantly the men and women below her fell into a wild battle, first and feet flying as they fought each other. Blood splattered the floor as blows landed, some falling while others stood tall, proving their skills in the only real way.

"Enough," Cassandra called out harshly and the fighting stopped as soon as it started. She leapt down to join them, walking over the fallen fighters as she studied the survivors. "You, you and you," she pointed out three more of them, "you were marked in the fighting. Leave here, and take the fallen with you."

The three men picked up the fallen and left, even as the two survivors faced Cassandra. The young man wore red, a simple body suit without pouches or decorations, tight enough not to catch on anything yet lose enough to give freedom of movement. The woman wore blue, her costume tattered a bit but otherwise fine, and her brown hair and eyes shone as she studied Cassandra intently.

"You two are now initiates," Cassandra told them gravely, "you have faced many tests to come here, but I tell you now that this is just the beginning of your trials." A serious meeting of their eyes, "You will learn of the League, of how to be an assassin and you will grow to hate. Teachers will hurt you, tests will hurt you, and you will hate us all for what we do to you. But that hate will make you strong."

Cassandra turned, her long black hair flowing like a cape. 'God she's beautiful,' both young people found themselves thinking.

"Go now, back to your lives and close them off," Cassandra instructed them. "Leave not a trace of you behind. You belong to the League of Assassins now." With that she seemed to disappear into the shadows, leaving them alone once more.

"Do you really believe that?" a quiet voice asked as Cassandra walked through the tunnels to her quarters once more.

Cassandra seemed to relax a bit, her steely manner fading a little as she ran a hand though her hair, "Of course not, Leslie."

Doctor Leslie Tompkins shook her head, the older woman walking over to Cassandra as she asked, "So why do you tell them that?"

Looking faintly amused Cassandra answered, "Because that's what they expect to hear."

Leslie stared into Cassandra's eyes, making a soft noise with her tongue. "Your eyes are dilated," she noted, "and you look pale. Withdrawl symptoms?"

Cassandra grimaced but nodded reluctantly. "That crap Slade used on me is hard to shake," she admitted reluctantly.

"Sit down," Leslie waved the girl to a seat, "I'll start a fluid iv as well as a painkiller for the discomfort."

"I don't need..." Cassandra started.

Leslie cut her off with a motherly look. "You may not need it," she noted, "but you'll be in severe discomfort without it. Now sit."

"Yes, ma'am," Cassandra smiled wryly.

It had been a few weeks since Leslie Tompkins had contacted Cassandra, offering her services to the leader of the League of Assassins. Cassandra had just finished the disasterous adventure with Titans East, where she first began to shake Slade's narcotic hold on her, and the doctor had been invaluable in doing so.

Leslie hummed softly as she worked, baring Cassandra's sleeve and hooking her up to the intravenous fluids. "There," she said, "just sit and relax for a few minutes."

"Thank you," Cassandra sighed, already feeling the pain begin to fade. "Leslie," she asked, "why are you doing this?"

"Hmm?" Leslie looked at her curiously.

"I don't understand why you're helping me," Cassandra said with a sigh, "considering all the things I've done."

Leslie carefully rolled up the tubing, throwing away the wrappers. "I got to know you pretty well during when Gotham was cut off," she said finally, "you aren't a evil person. And more importantly, you needed help."

"True enough," Cassandra sighed. She smiled slightly, "Thank you for telling me Steph was alive, too."

"I knew how close you two were," Leslie acknowledged, "not letting you know would be cruel." She smiled, "Besides, I suspect she'll be looking for you soon enough."

"I know," Cassandra acknowledged, "and I'll have to drive her away, just like I did Robin. Or else all my sacrifices in going undercover this last year will be for nothing."

"I still think Bruce was insane, doing this to you," Leslie frowned.

Cassandra smiled, "I went into it with my eyes open."

Shortly after the battle with Alexander Luthor Batman had approached Cassandra, laying out a daring and dangerous plan. Cassandra would go undercover with the League, joining them while claiming to be angry for Batman choosing another defender for Gotham and furious over her discoveries about her parentage. Using her inherited position of One Above All she would then learn all the secrets of the League, eventually piping that information back to Batman to destroy the Assassins once and for all.

"Decieving Robin must have been interesting," Leslie noted as she monitored the fluids going into Cassandra.

"You have no idea," Cassandra admitted, "if I hadn't been deliberately keeping him off balance with my odd behavior, I'm sure he would have seen through me." A smile, "I'm not much of an actress, really.'

Once the liquids finished pouring into Cassandra Leslie carefully unhooked her, pulling the needle free and bandaging up the wound. "Feeling better?" she asked.

"Much," Cassandra admitted, rising and stretching gracefully. She sighed, "Any idea how long it'll take me to recover from my addiction to Slade's booster?"

"I'm not sure," Leslie acknowledged. "The drug Slade dosed you with is derived from the same one that made him Deathstroke, and it was experimental back then. Frankly, I'm shocked he'd even risk giving it to you or his daughter Ravager."

"The bastard isn't exactly normal," Cassandra agreed flatly.

"I'll have to keep testing your blood samples," Leslie sighed, "my best guess? It'll be a few more weeks before it's gone."

"Hmm," Cassandra nodded as she pulled her sleeve back down over her arm, her expression thoughtful. "I got word a few hours ago," she revealed softly, "Spoiler is on her way here to New Carthage."

"Steph?" Leslie looked at her worriedly, "What are you going to do?"

Cassandra sighed, "Trick her, of course. I'll go into my full villain act, do something dastardly and generally try to convince her I'm bad to the bone."

Leslie had to chuckle softly at that. "You'll have to be careful," she cautioned, "I think Steph will be harder to fool than Robin was."

"I'll manage," Cassandra answered, "I have to." Steeling herself she said, "I have to go see Nyssa, I'll be back soon."

Watching Cassandra leave Leslie sighed, "Be careful."

The tunnels lead under the city, eventually opening up into a much more opulant chamber than the spartan rooms that Cassandra used. Cushions covered the floor, scented candles burned and the sweet scent of food wafted through the room.

"Welcome," Nyssa Raatko smiled, the black haired older woman rising from her bed to greet Cassandra warmly.

"M'lady," Cassandra nodded respectfully.

"Nyssa, sweet one," she chided, "call me by my name."

"Of course," Cassandra nodded as Nyssa stroked her cheek, "Nyssa."

"Come," Nyssa led her towards the bed. In a cheerful tone she asked, "Do you know why I let you live after you tried to assassinate me?"

"It's part of a larger plan of yours," Cassandra offered, even as she recalled that incident. Under the instructions of Nyssa's sister Talia she had attempted to kill Nyssa with a car bomb, deciding to go along with the attempt for her own reasons.

"Very true," Nyssa acknowledged. She lay back with a smile, "You are bound to obey the Demon's Head, and since we two now lead, it creates difficulties for you."

"Yes, Nyssa," Cassandra agreed, even though honestly she would have been happy to see both women dead.

Nyssa gestured her to come closer, "Besides, there's another reason to spare you."

"Oh?" Cassandra asked as she sat down on the bed beside Nyssa.

"This," Nyssa drew her down into a lingering kiss.

To be continued...


	8. Arrow on a String

Arrow on a string

There are those who do it out of duty. Some are bound by a obligation to family, or to the past. Cissie King-Jones certainly knew all about THAT one, having been dragooned into the lifestyle by her mother. Guilt, fear, there were uncounted reasons that people wore flashy costumes and went out into the world to save lives.

The rarest, of course, were those who had the calling. Something deep within them beyond guilt or duty that made them go out, night after night and put themselves on the line for their fellow men. Cissie never believed she had that, but maybe she was wrong.

The blonde haired woman dressed in brown ran across the rooftops, her cloak swirling around her as she drew her bow and fired with almost supernatural accuracy. The line whirred as it was dragged by the arrow between buildings then she leapt, using her bow to slide down the line to a nearby building. She landed with a soft grunt, then moved forward until she crouched at the edge of the building.

The cloak Cissie wore kept the light rain off her quiver of arrows and her bow, the hood covering part of her already masked face. Her costume was a relatively simple variation of a huntsman's garb, with protective gloves and lightly armored shirt and pants, tough enough to stop lower caliber weapons.

"Robin to Arrow, you there?" the quiet voice came into Cissie's earpiece, the familiarity of the voice oddly soothing.

"Arrow here, Robin," Cissie confirmed through the microphone clipped to the lower part of her mask, "I'm in position." She stretched her fingers, rolling her shoulders a bit as she added, "Thanks for calling me."

"I figured you'd want to be involved," Robin answered warmly.

"Heh," Arrowette half smiled.

Once upon a time, Cissie had reluctantly followed in her mother, Miss Arrowette's footsteps, but after an incident she retired. When a mentor she had liked and trusted had been killed Cissie went out in a new costume with vengeance in mind, nearly killing one of them but for the intervention of Superboy. Since that time she had refused to wear her costume, possibly afraid that she might be driven to that point again.

The building below them was quiet, the offices of a small internet provider who went bust after the net boom died, then was bought up by Lexcorp during the rebuilding of Gotham. It had passed through several hands since then, become more shoddy as it was left to rot, and now was a run down headquarters for a phone scam operation.

'And a kidnaping,' Cissie thought grimly.

Yesterday, a team of well equipped commandos had attacked the Elias School that Cassie attended, breaking into the dorms and kidnaping Greta Hayes, the girl formerly known as Secret. Cassie had taken up her bow for the first time in months to do battle, taking down three goons but the rest escaped with Greta before she could stop them.

Robin arrived soon afterward with several Titans, and they quickly agreed to work together to retrieve their friend. Studying the footage and questioning the captive thugs they quickly determined the identity of the kidnapers and their probable location.

"But why would a two bit science villain want her?" Cissie wondered aloud.

"He might think her powers are still there," Cassie Sandmark, the heroine known as Wonder Girl replied, "or he might want to try figuring out her supernatural side. Either way, we're getting her out of there."

"Amen to that," Cissie agreed.

"I've got the back door," Rose Wilson said, "when does the party start?"

'Ravager,' Cissie calmly noted. The daughter of Deathstroke was a odd duck, for a Titan, but Cissie didn't really feel that she was in a position to throw any stones. Besides, the woman was willing to help them in their hastily organized raid out of friendship with Robin, so she couldn't be all bad.

"Everyone in position?" Robin asked seriously, as was his usual style these days.

"Ready," Cissie answered as the others chorused their agreement.

"Go!"

Firing another cable arrow Cissie was off, sliding down the line before smashing in a office window, kicking out to drop a nearby guard. Notching a arrow she scanned her surroundings, then was off. Using the floor plan Robin had hacked she hurried through the halls, even as Ravager and Wonder Girl made a very noisy distraction attacking from the front.

"Nothing on the east side," Robin said as the black and red clad hero appeared from the dimly lit hallway. "I think they're in the former conference room, like we expected," the black haired young man said, holding a battarang at the ready.

"But we came in the way we did to make sure," Cissie smiled, shaking her head, "as thorough as always."

"Thanks," Robin smiled back as they hurried down the hall together.

'Damn he's cute,' Cissie found herself noting, then she firmly dismissed that thought. Not only was Robin a bit too grim these days for her tastes, there was also the spark of something between him and Wonder Girl. Or at least, that's how their long looks during the briefing had appeared to her.

They hurried down a hallway, stopping as Cissie carefully peered around a corner. "Two guards," she murmured softly to Robin.

"Which one do you want?" Robin asked politely.

Cissie smiled slightly, "Right, he's slightly farther away."

"Let's go," Robin said, moving with a natural grace Cissie almost envied. He drew back and threw the battarang with incredible speed and precision, stunning his target then racing in to finish the job.

As soon as Robin moved Cissie was in position, drawing and firing once with a normal shaft to pin the farther goon's arm to the wall, then drawing and firing less than two seconds later to sen a blunt, weighted arrow right to his forehead, knocking him senseless.

"No alarm?" Cissie asked tersely as she ran up to where Robin was busily binding up their two adversaries.

"No, they didn't get the chance to trigger it," Robin noted. He touched his ear piece as he heard a report from Ravager, "Looks like the majority of guards are still tied up with Wonder Girl and Ravager."

"They all right?" Cissie asked, putting another arrow to the string of her bow as they heard a explosion off in the distance.

Robin smiled slightly as he answered, "Some suits of Lexcorp armor slowed them down, but that's about all."

Cissie looked at the armored door as she mused, "Do we wait for them, or...?"

"They'll get here soon," Robin examined the keypad connected to the door, "and to be honest, I want to make sure Greta is all right."

"Then let's go in," Cissie said seriously.

Cracking open the casing Robin quickly hot-wired the access, then they took position. He hit the switch and they raced inside, Cissie firing at the nearest guard to knock the blaster like weapon out of his hands.

The large room had been hastily converted into some kind of analysis lab, A modified containment chamber in the middle surrounded by monitoring equipment and computers. Within the tube floated a unconscious Greta, her light brown hair flowing around her face as a oxygen mask covered part of her face.

"Who...?" the blonde haired woman turned, drawing her gun as a older figure in a lab coat ducked behind her.

"Valentina Vostok?!" Robin blurted in surprise even as he casually wind-kicked a armored figure unconscious.

"Who?" Cissie demanded even as she drew and fired quickly, using stun and cable arrows to winnow down the number of remaining guards.

"Former superhero in the Doom Patrol," Robin ducked under a punch then uppercut, sending his foe sprawling even as he threw a battarang to shattered the containment chamber, shattering the clear plastic, "went into government service after she lost her powers."

"This is a government operation?" Cissie growled as she hurried forward to catch Greta and pull her free of the attached monitors.

"Precisely," Valentina said coldly, keeping her hands away from the pistol at her side as she said, "I'd recommend you leave." She glared at them and added, "Now."

Before anything else could be said the far wall crumpled inward, a figure in the distinctive green Lexcorp brand armor sailing by them to hit the wall with a thump. Wonder Girl smiled, the blonde in her distinctive red t-shirt and jeans, while Ravager looked sleekly dangerous in her blue and orange designed costume, twin swords drawn and ready.

"Not likely," Cissie said, relieved to see Greta was breathing normally. She glared at Vostok, "Is this leftover DEO crap?"

Once upon a time the Department of Extranormal Operations had held Secret and several other superhuman teens captive in a Orphanage until the first members of Young Justice broke them out. The DEO later claimed that the kids treatment there had been abnormal and apologized, but the Young Justice members had always wondered about that.

"I can't answer that," Valentina smiled slightly.

"Wanna bet?" Ravager advanced on her, swords drawn.

"Ravager," Robin gestured and she stopped. He faced Vostok and said, "You know what my mentor is like, and since I'm aware of you so will he. If either of us find out Greta has been so much as harmed, there'll be consequences."

"Capturing her was a waste of time anyway," Valentina gave the cowering scientist a cold look, "as far as we can determine, she lacks the metagene."

Greta coughed a few times as Cissie held her, then her eyes opened, looking a bit unfocused at first. "Cissie?" she murmured then smiled as she rested her head on her arm, "I knew you'd save me."

A few hours later and Greta was back at the dorms thanks to Wonder Girl even as police and federal agents swarmed the buildings. "Think you scared her off?" Cissie asked, drinking some hot chocolate Robin produced from a cache on a nearby building.

"I think so," Robin answered, "and I intend to pass the information over to Mr. Terrific at Checkmate, too. Should clip their wings pretty effectively."

"Good," Cissie smiled, her blonde hair flowing as she pushed her hood back.

Robin gave her a tentative look, "Any chance of you wearing that costume a bit more often? We could use you."

"You know," Cissie said after a moment, "I'll think about it."

To be continued...


	9. Legends

In the Shadow of the Bat

Legends

There are legends that walk among us, the people of Gotham know. A inhuman bat-creature that flaps in the darkness, or maybe just a man in a costume no one can be sure. The brightly clad Robin, shadowy Nightwing and many others haunted Gotham, but few learned about the true nature of their protectors.

Reporter Dani Grayton hurried down the street, her blonde hair flowing over her shoulders as she vaulted over a spilled trash can. Unlike some of the more famous TV personalities she dressed for comfort, including a sweatshirt, jeans and running shoes.

"Damn he's fast," Dani muttered as she looked up at the black shape swinging across the sky. From here it was almost impossible to tell who the costume was, so the only thing she could do was try to keep up.

Soon she could hear a siren's wail as Dani rounded a corner, watching as a man was bodily pitched out a window. Pulling her recorder out from her pocket she quickly began to dictate the details that she'd need for a story. She noted place, time and described the scene, then advanced with recorder in hand.

"Uhhhh," the man groaned as she passed.

Dani pushed the device towards him optomistically as she asked, "Excuse me, would you care to make a statement?"

"Urgh," he moaned, the brown haired man looking at her blearily, "didn't do nuffin."

"I'll make a note of that," Dani said as she pressed on.

Dani quickly identified the building as a jewelry store, and considering the time of night there was no legal reason for the men to be inside. Drawing out her camera she tried a shot, illuminating three men facing off against one... and losing.

The one man wore some kind of dark body suit, moving like a dancer as he cooly handled each attack, almost testing his foes. Then, having taken their measure he dropped them with frightening ease. Pulling a line from his belt he bound the men together them calmly dragged them out as he saw Dani standing there.

'Not Batman,' Dani noted as she took in the dark hair and the dark blue, light blue clothes, 'it's Nightwing.' Clearing her throat she strode forward and said, "Dani Grayton, Gotham Gazzette. Would you care to..."

"No," Nightwing strode by her, drawing a gun like device out and firing it into the sky, "and I'd suggest going home. It's not safe at night in Gotham."

"Thank you, Mr. Hero," Dani murmured as she turned off her recorder. Coolly she waited for the police to arrive, yawning tiredly. As she heard the first sirens near she thought, 'It's going to be a long night.'

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

With a groan Dani came awake, stretching out on her couch. The sunlight through thin clouds lit up the grungy city outside her window, a part of the town that had survived the quakes and no man's land. Getting up she shuffled by her desk to the coffee maker and switched it on, then stumbled to the door to get the paper.

Drinking her coffee and flipping through the pages Dani was satisfied that she'd made page two this time. "Hero says it's not safe at night!" read the bold headline, with "police refuse to comment" just underneath it. With a satisfied smirk Dani cut out the article and pinned it up to the cork board covering the wall above her desk. On it were stories of the crazy and the outlandish from the two years she had been reporting iun this town, including the superhero stuff that she was so interested in.

After making herself some breakfast Dani hurried out the door in t-shirt and her usual jeans, ready for the world. Her first stop was the police department, where she ran into the typical run around. The desk sargeant, obviously having read her story, tried to stop her there then when that didn't work she was fobbed off to various officers. Finally, due to a combination of dogged persistance and luck, she got into see the Chief of police.

Commissioner James Gordon looked tough, maybe even weathered as he nodded greetings to Dani. Unlike some men who grow older and frail Gordon seemed to simply become tougher, like a well aged piece of leather. Even after returning to clean up Gotham Police Department he looked capable and ready to face whatever challenge may come.

"Miss Grayton," Gordon nodded hello to her as he added mildly, "you've stirred up quite a hornet's nest."

Dani took a seat, smiling slightly as she answered, "That's part of a reporter's job, Commissioner. Do you care to make a statement?"

Gordon sat back in his chair, "Miss Grayton, did you know that crime has actually been falling in Gotham?"

That made Dani raise her eyebrows. "You realize I find that hard to buy?" she replied.

"Look it up," Gordon said calmly. He frowned, "The truth is, overall Gotham has less crime than the days of the mobs, but we have much more superhuman crime." He sighed, "Which, as you know, is much louder and visible than regular crime."

"I can agree with that," Dani conceded.

"As to our city being safe at night?" Gordon brought the interview around to her story, "I'd say we're no more dangerous than New York at night."

"But not Metropolis or Keystone?" Dani said with a teasing smile.

"If we had Flash or Superman living here..." Gordon shrugged.

"Fair enough," Dani agreed. She looked at him thoughtfully, "Since your return a few months ago, I notice the Bat-signal has been restored to Gotham Central's roof. Is it there to play to the urban legend of the Batman, or is he real?"

"I can't answer that question," Gordon said as he checked his watch for show, "as I have a pressing engagement."

"Commish!" Dani complained as she was ushered out.

"Sorry young lady," Gordon's eyes twinkled with amusement as he grabbed his hat and coat, "maybe next time."

Not long afterward, Dani found herself outside, walking towards the taxi stall. "Private notes," she muttered into her recorder, "the city's stance on Batman has varied over the years. For a while he was nearly a public figure, being given keys to the city and official sanction, but over time that changed. As the years passed the distance between him and the city has increased, and as far as I know he is no longer connected to the Police. And as his appearances have dropped so has the legend of the Batman changed, from well known hero to eerie urban legend some people no longer even believe in."

"Hey miss!" the taxi driver honked his horn to get her attention, "You wanna ride or not?"

"Sorry," Dani climbed in, tossing her briefcase on the seat.

"Were to?" he asked in a surly way.

"Gotham Gazette," Dani ordered, "and don't take the long way around, or no tip."

"Right," he flipped on the meter and they were off.

Sitting back in her seat Dani watched the city wizz buy. "Better edit out the bit about legend of the Batman," she murmured to herself, "it's kinda pretentious."

BOOM! Not far ahead of them the wall of a building exploded outwards as smoke poured out onto the street. The driver cursed as cars ahead jerked to a stop, swerving to avoid a suddenly parked car in the middle of the road.

"Stop here," Dani yelled, tossing a generous amount of cash from her wallet to the driver and scrambling out the door. Running between parked cars she sought to get closer to the violence, her recorder at the ready.

Amid the chaos around Gotham Bank men in combat gear scurried out of the building carrying money, followed by a oddly aristocratic woman. The black haired lady flinched at the sunlight, even distorted through clouds and shouted, "Hench!"

The white haired older man with a unbrella hurried over, blocking the light as he said, "Yes, Miss Noctura."

"Thank you," the almost bone pale woman smiled politely. Addressing the men she said, "Load up the truck, we haven't long until the police arrive."

Dani listened, crouching behind a car. Whispering into her recorder she narrated, 'The criminal mastermind appears to be Noctura, also known as Natalia Knight. Wonder if she's related to the Starman Knights?"

"Miss!" a feminine voice called. Looking up Dani saw that Noctura had noticed her, and was gesturing for her to come closer.

'Well, what do I have to lose?' Dani thought as she rose from her hiding place. Briskly walking to Noctura's side she nodded politely, "Dani Grayton, Gotham Gassette."

"Miss Grayton," Noctura nodded, "I've read your works with interest."

"Would you care to give an interview?" Dani offered even as the goons hustled out more money and items from the Gotham Bank.

Noctura looked amused. "You're not afraid I'll kill you?" she asked.

Dani concentrated on keeping her cool. "What would be the point?" she wondered. A smile, "If you intended to kill me you could have just had a henchman shoot me, but I think you're smarter than that."

Noctura looked amused. Her slinky dress swirling around her, "It's true I usually let my associates do any killing..."

"Precisely," Dani agreed, watching as several figures moved into position. "So, your statement is...?" she asked, keeping her distracted.

"If Gotham had a less expensive medical establishment," Noctura sniffed, "I could get treatment for my skin disorder without resorting to such distasteful methods."

Just then a oddly faceless woman jumped one henchman, arrows pinned another to a wall and the orderly roberry descended into chaos. "Oh dear," Hench noted, the attendant tugging on Noctura's arm, we'd best go, ma'am."

"Don't you want to finish your interview?" Dani asked as the two criminals jumped into a fine sports car.

"Later," Noctura smiled as she sped away.

Dani watched her go thoughtfully, "Well that went well." Hurrying towards the fight she called, "Can I get a comment?"

As one the assembled heroes answered,. "No!"

"Everyone's a critic," Dani sighed.

To be continued...

Notes: Dani is the granddaughter of a obscure Golden Age heroine called the Spider Widow.


	10. Power Girl and Huntress: Lost Time

Disclaimer: I own none of these DC Comics characters, I'm just borrowing them for awhile. This is my take on events surrounding Infinite Crisis, and may not coincide with other versions.

Power Girl and Huntress: Lost Time

Helena Bertinelli paused, her black hair falling into her eyes as she looked over the headquarters of the Justice Society. It was a busy place these days, new heroes pouring in as the group strove to train the next generation of legacy heroes. Of course, as Huntress she was here for another reason, one that had started some time ago...

Power Girl showed up over a year ago, deeply confused for reasons Huntress only learned about later. At the time the busty blonde heroine had been mentally tampered with by the villain Psycho Pirate, who was making her see visions of alternate lives she could have lived. Apparently in many of those lives there was a connection between then, and Huntress had to admit she felt a odd... bond with the heroine.

Ducking into a alley Huntress quickly changed into her purple and black garb, adjusting her mask until it set right then, squaring her shoulders marched up to the Gotham city landmark. As she neared the doors silver spheres smoothly detached from the building and swept around her as a voice quietly noted, "Huntress, former member Justice League, associate of Black Canary. Entrance permitted."

"Nice security system," Huntress murmured as she walked in, passing finely decorated collums as she looked around. There were no picture or decorations announcing who they were, but they weren't needed. The world already knew who the JSA were, the members no longer needed to prove anything to anyone.

"Eee!" the squeal of a girl made Huntress blink in surprise as the red headed girl in red and green rushed up to her, "ohmygodyourtheHuntressI'veheardofyouyouwereintheJLAand..."

"Cyclone!" the blonde in blue, red and white laughed, "slow down." Stargirl smiled up at Huntress as she continued, "Sorry, she's a superheroine fangirl and can get a little over excited."

"Sorry," Cyclone smiled shyly.

"It's all right," Huntress smiled, remembering her own awed reaction to meeting Superman. Clearing her throat she asked, "I was looking for Power Girl...?"

Cyclone smiled, "She just got back from a mission, I think she's in her quarters...?"

"Thanks," Huntress said after getting quick directions from the two girls.

The Justice Society's headquarters was a... interesting place. As she walked Huntress saw the new Starman float by, peeked in to see Wildcat sparring with his son, and several others playing cards. There was a oddly homey atmosphere, along with a feeling of... belonging.

'Pretty different from when I was in the Justice League,' Helena mused as she reached the correct door and knocked.

After a moment the door opened and Power Girl gazed in surprise at Huntress, her eyes widening slightly. "Huntress," she smiled slightly, "what a surprise..."

Huntress smiled back as she conceded, "It's been a while, but I wanted to see you."

Power Girl gave her a searching look then nodded, "Come on in." The room inside was untidy but not badly so, with Power Girl's red cape draped over a chair as the blonde stalked over to the mini kitchen and poured out some juice. "Do you want some?" she offered as Huntress took a seat on the couch.

"No, thanks," Huntress said, sighing as she wondered what the hell she was doing here. Looking up at Power Girl she was struck by her physical beauty and pure presence. Unlike many heroines she wasn't just beautiful with her lovely face and well built body, but she also radiated a incredible sense of power and presence. Even more astonishingly she seemed mostly unaware of her effect on others.

Power Girl walked over to a nearby chair, sitting down with a sigh. "Sorry," she smiled slightly, "it's been a long day."

Huntress eagerly seized on that, and the two heroines began to relax as they compaired their various bad day experiences. By the time Huntress finished recounting her worst day in Metropolis they had both relaxed and were on a first name basis.

"So Helena," Karen leaned forward as she looked at her curiously, "why did you want to see me?"

"It's kind of strange," Helena admitted, trying not to look at the open window of flesh visable above Karen's breasts.

"Oh?" Karen asked.

"Last year, you came to me when you were in trouble," Helena looked over at her searchingly as she asked, "why?"

Karen, oddly, blushed faintly. "I guess Oracle has filled you in on my background?" she asked after a moment.

"You come from a alternate Earth," Helena said, "one that was destroyed in a great crisis. In that world you were the alternate version of Supergirl, I think."

"That's pretty much the case," Karen nodded. "There were also counterparts there of many heroes... including you."

"That's how you knew me!" Helena sat up in surprise.

"Yeah," Karen agreed with a bit of sadness in her eyes, "your name was even Helena there, too."

Helena felt a odd twinge as she met Karen's eyes. "You two were close?"

A faint blush colored Karen's cheeks. "We were both second generation heroes," she remembered as she sat back, "her the daughter of Batman, I the successor of Superman and we immediately had that to bond over."

"I can imagine," Helena said. She looked at Karen, once again noting how beautiful she was, struck by a odd moment of vertigo...

"Helena?" Karen asked.

"Just... remembering something," Helena murmured. "Something odd happened during the second Crisis..."

Karen looked sympathetic, "You got someone else's memories?"

"You know?" Helena blinked.

"It happened to a few JSA members too," Karen revealed, "they suddenly recalled living lives on Earth 2, or at least bits and pieces."

Helena looked at Karen with a faintly pained look as she revealed, "That's why I was asking you about the other Huntress."

After studying Helena a moment a faint blush colored Karen's cheeks, "What sort of memories are we dealing with here?"

"Intimate ones," Helena looked away.

Karen looked more than a bit embarrassed. "I'm... not quite sure what to say," she chuckled nervously.

"Could you," Helena searched for the right words, "put this into some kind of context? Or I'm never going to be able to look at you without blushing again."

Karen grinned at that comment. She took a drink then said, "You have to understand, I never dated much before. I had been raised in a simulated version of Krypton, and after I arrived on Earth I found it hard to relate to people." She looked thoughtful, "The one guy I dated, Andrew, really didn't turn out well either."

"I see," Helena murmured.

"The Huntress I knew didn't have much better luck," Karen mused, "and one night we left a JSA meeting and went off to drown our sorrows."

"And one thing led to another?" Helena gulped.

Karen winked, "Pretty much. And no, I'm not going into any more detail."

"Trust me," Helena blushed, "I already have too much detail."

Karen was tempted to ask, but decided not to.

Helena got up, stretching as she picked up her costume's mask off a nearby table, watching as Karen got up too. Looking at Karen she was struck by the almost physical memory of tugging that white cloth down and feasting on those full breasts.

Moving quickly Karen rushed over to catch Helena as she swayed, watching the woman's eyes widen. "Are you all right?" she asked gently.

"That was almost as embarassing as yelling the wrong name with Oracle a few nights back," Helena confessed.

Karen looked a bit startled, "You and Oracle?"

"Try not to tell anyone," Helena blushed.

"My lips are sealed," Karen noted, feeling a twinge of regret. "Does Black Canary know?"

"I'd guess so," Helena said, cheeks still read.

Karen checked the time as she picked up her cape. "Wanna go talk about it?" she offered. A grin, "I promise not to take advantage."

Helena grinned back, glad she had someone else to talk about this with. "You know, I'd like that," she admitted as they walked out together. "I can't talk about this stuff with Lady Blackhawk, she's a bit... old fashioned."

"But cute," Karen added,

Helena chuckled, "When she found out a good looking male friend of ours was gay, her first reaction was that she and I should kidnap him and convert him straight."

"I see what you mean," Karen snickered.

End...?

Notes: During "Infinite Crisis" the members of Doom Patrol regained memories of a alternate past, so I thought it might be interesting if it happened to others. Originally intended as a PWP, but the characters wouldn't let me go there.


	11. One Night in Gotham

One night in Gotham

"The important thing to remember is," the hench woman said seriously as she finished painting her face white, "they're insane."

"Seriously, Jamie?" the other man noted, pulling on a carnival mask, "Why do you work for them, then?"

Jamie smiled as she added some red lipstick, the older woman's brown hair falling over her shoulders, "The money's great, and nobody lives forever, Max."

Max nodded nervously, pushing his black hair back then adjusting the suit the young man wore. "How do I look?" he asked.

Jamie nodded thoughtfully, "It'll do. Now, let's see who else is here."

There was a odd feeling to the factory, once home to a toy company before it moved it's operations to Mexico. Colorful boxes lay abandoned in the corners, and broken toys sat in forlorn piles, waiting some craftsman to restore them to life.

"Hey, boys!" Harley Quinn waved cheerfully, the black and red garbed villainess adding, "And girl, of course." Several other thugs were there also dressed in clown outfits, improvised from regular clothes and wearing face paint.

"Ah HA ha HA ha ha HA!" the chilling laugh echoed as the Joker emerged, the pale skinned man grinning his usual mad grin, his purple suit fitting him like a glove. "Welcome all," he waved, "to the greatest show on earth!"

"That's the one you watch out for," Jamie murmured, "he makes the rest of the city's maniacs look sane."

"Mister J!" Harley squealed, rushing towards him... only to be hit with a mallet Joker had concealed behind his back.

"Now Harl," Joker said conversationally as he stepped over his stunned lover, "you know I don't go in for that touchy feely stuff."

"Right?" Harley murmured, raising her head and shaking off the blow.

"She's the one that got us together for him," Max sounded disbelieving as he whispered, "and he does that to her?"

"He's crazy, remember? They both are," Jamie answered him softly.

But before anything else could happen, the skylight exploded inward with a crash, figures dropping like avenging angels upon them. Batwoman hit the ground first, her red lined cape swirling as her battle staff dropped a thug, "Surrender, Joker."

"You had a sex change, Batman?" Joker laughed, "Red is SO not your color."

"Ah, Mr J that's BatWOMAN," Harley said wryly.

"I knew that," Joker smacked her casually.

The faceless woman seemed to scowl as the Question muttered, "He is really beginning to annoy me."

Jamie grabbed Max before he could charge forward as she yelped, "Let's get out of here!"

Max looked at her in surprise, "But there's just two of them."

"You really haven't lived in Gotham long," Jamie muttered as she grabbed her friend and hurried them out the back door.

"Huh?" Max blinked.

"Never mess with capes," Jamie said as they heard the founds of pitched battle within the building, "they always win."

"Surely not all the time..." Max blinked, the air in the alley behind the factory chilled by a light spring rain.

"Often enough," Jamie paused to pull a cloth from her pocket and scrubbed the white makeup she was wearing off. "Get that mask off too," she ordered him, "in case any of their buddies are watching."

"Oh, right," Max sheepishly ditched the mask, glad that the clothes they were wearing didn't stand out too much. Thank goodness plain business suits never went out of style.

"Well, that job was a bust," Jamie sighed, "too bad. Joker usually pays well, too."

"I could use the money," Max admitted, "rent's due."

Jamie sighed, the two pausing as a caped figure swung by above them. "It's urgent?" she asked after a moment.

"Yeah," Max admitted quietly.

"Okay," Jamie said reluctantly, "let's go see if we can find a decent hench person job."

The coin shone as it rose up, glittering, then spun as it fell, the horribly disfigured man catching it on the back of his hand. Both Jamie and Max held their breath as he uncovered it, then they sighed in relief to see the unmarked face.

Harvey Dent would be a handsome man if you could just ignore the acid scarred half of his face, and there was regret in his eyes as he said, "Sorry, folks. If you were twins I'd hire you, though the matching suits are a nice touch."

"Thank you sir," Jamie sighed.

Both tensed as the coin was flipped again, shining before it thankfully came up unscarred. "It's too bad you we're more into the duality thing," Two Face mused, "if you can come up with something next time, I'll put you on my list."

"We'll look into it," Max promised.

"Thank you for your time," Jamie added as they slipped out of the backroom of the bar, puffing out a sigh of relief once they were outside.

"I think he scares me more than Joker," Max mused softly as they headed to their next stop, "the Joker may be crazy, but he's not random."

Jamie shrugged, "I've worked a gig with Two Face, as long as you handle the job right he doesn't need to flip for your fate."

"That's comforting," Max sighed. "Where to next?"

The man's skeleton glowed with crackling fire as Doctor Phosphorus sat casually in the back of the Iceberg Lounge, smoking a cigarette. Once upon a time Phosphorus' powers would have set everything ablaze, but he had gained enough control to wear clothes and interact with others safely, more or less.

"You two up for a killin' job?" the former scientist asked, drawing on a cigarette.

"If it comes up in a caper," Jamie answered frankly, "but I don't go looking for it."

"Sorry," Phosphorus shook his head as he said, "I got a score to settle with Rupert Thorne. A deadly score, and the muscle I need's got to know that."

"I understand," Max said, "and Thorne won't hear it from us."

"Better not," Phosphorus said flatly as he looked at them, "if I hear he learned something from you, there won't be enough left to fill a shoebox."

Up front both Max and Jamie paused at the bar, getting a coke each. The bartender was smooth and graceful, accepting a tip then sliding off to serve the next customers in line. They both drank, resting a moment even as a familiar figure neared.

"Ah, Jamie, it's been to long," Oswald Cobblebot smiled up at her charmingly, his black business suit making the short pudgy man look like his namesake, the Penguin.

"Been awhile," Jamie acknowledged, "but I'm glad to see you doing well."

"Thank you," Oswald preened, "it's been rough going, but worth it."

As Oswald strutted off Max looked at Jamie in a little awe as he asked, "How do you know these guys so well?"

"I've been on the scene for awhile," Jamie admitted, "started with the Roman's mob, then moved on into being a henchwoman when Batman took him down. I've worked with most of the big faces in Gotham at one time or another."

"So... you've never made it big?" Max asked.

Jamie snickered, "If you're in this business expecting a share in the big score, forget it." She tossed back the rest of her drink, "The few times I've made it big I've never been able to hold on to the money, something always happens." She smiled a bit sadly, "No, I figure I'll keep working till my luck runs out."

"I never thought of things like that," Max conceded.

Jamie stood up and stretched, "Come on, let's hit a few other possibilities. We gotta get your rent paid somehow."

"Thanks," Max said, following her obediently.

After checking in with Scarecrow and the supposedly reformed Riddler, the two of them found themselves in the dockyard home of their latest opportunity. "Watch it Sugar," the puppet Scarface complained, looking like a gangster from years ago, "it's damp in here!"

Peyton Reily smiled, the lovely blonde Ventriloquist holding Scarface in her arms, "Sorry sir." She looked up at Max and Jamie, "We do need some help, but we're only looking for one person for now."

"I..." Max hesitated.

Jamie spoke up, "Go ahead, Max."

Max looked at her in surprise, "You're sure?"

Jamie smiled at him as she said, "It's okay, go ahead." She squeezed his arm, "Remember, you need the money."

Max sighed as he quietly said, "You sure?"

"Take the job," Jamie insisted.

"Ain't this special," Scarface sounded amused as the puppet looked at Max, "nice suit, kid, but you'll need a fedora."

Jamie slipped out as they addressed wardrobe issues, pausing one she felt she had walked far enough away from the Ventriloquist's base. The payphone buzzed as she dialed the number and the answering machine picked up.

"Yo Bats," Jamie said, feeling only a slight twinge at selling the boy out, "the Ventriloquist is up to something again, operating at pier 5 on the deocks. I expect my usual payment at the mail drop."

Jamie hung up and walked off, already thinking of what she was going to do with the money. This was Gotham city, and if she had learned anything over the years it was how to take care of herself.

To be continued...


	12. Spoiled Questions

Spoiled Questions

Renee Montoya paused as she opened the door to her office, then closed the door as the brown haired woman said, "You didn't have to sneak in here."

The heroine called Spoiler leaned up against the wall, her black bodysuit absorbing the light. Over top that she wore purple gloves and swashbuckler boots along with a purple cloak. The final touch was a golden utility belt, in her case worn over the shoulder and across her front.

"Sorry," Spoiler's voice was muffled enough to be unrecognizable, "but I didn't think the front door was a option."

"True," Renee agreed as she walked to her desk and unlocked the top drawer. She drew the papers out, "Here's the report you asked for, all the data I could find on the League of Assassins and their activities over the last year."

"Thank you," Spoiler gave her a envelope full of money that she drew from beneath her cloak. As she began to skim through the papers she mused, "Any trends leap out at you?"

"One thing," Renee said as she leaned against the side of her desk, "their targets have shifted a bit lately."

"Oh?" Spoiler looked curiosity.

"They've only been hitting underworld figures," Renee said dryly, "I can't say with complete certainty but it looks like they've shifted how they're doing business."

"Or their boss has caused them to shift," Spoiler mused.

Renee nodded, "That's possible too."

Spoiler tucked the papers away in a pouch in her cloak as she walked to the window and said, "If you learn anything new, contact me the usual way."

"Use masking tape to make a purple x in the window?" Renee teased slightly.

Spoiler chuckled faintly, "How about just my cellphone?"

Renee chuckled softly as Spoiler swung out into the Gotham night, soon completely disappearing into the shadows. Her own expression became more serious as she sat back, silently considering what she had learned.

'That kid isn't ready to take on the League,' Renee thought to herself frimly as she sat casually at her desk, wishing she had the Gotham police to ask for help. 'Or at least a way to get a hold of the Batman.'

The phone rang and Renee reached for it, "Yes?"

Kate Kane's voice was warm as the other woman said, "Love, you sound exhausted."

Renee smiled, imagining her redheaded lover in the penthouse she lived in, in addition to using as her base as Batwoman. "I just got finished meeting with Spoiler," she said, "you were right, it does look like she's going after the League of Assassins."

"That's... not good at all," Kate said after a moment. "Do you think we should try to stop her?" she asked.

"I doubt we could," Renee said, "short of brute force. And to be honest that is not a route I want to go down."

"Reminds me a bit too much of the Bat," Kate agreed. "How about we tail her and offer our help if needed?"

"Sounds like a plan," Renee said firmly. She smiled, "Do we call out our buddies?"

"Hmm," Kate made a thoughtful sound, "we'll probably need Oracle's help to track her. Do the Birds still owe you a favor?"

"Yeah, I helped them deal with a Intergang cell," Renee remembered, "I think they'd help out, especially if what I heard about Oracle and Batgirl is true."

"Oh?" Kate asked.

"According to my source, Oracle was Batgirl's mentor for awhile," Renee revealed. "Wonder how Oracle feels knowing Batgirl now leads the League of Assassins?"

"I wouldn't ask," Kate said dryly.

"Fair enough," Renee chuckled, deciding her curiosity would have to remain unsatisfied. "All right, I'll call her," she said, "catch you later."

"Be careful," Kate said, "I'll be out patrolling, meet you when I get back."

"Take care," Renee said as she signed off.

Renee got up from her desk and closed the window, drawing the blinds down to seal off the room. From her belt buckel she drew a sphere of puddy like material even as she pressed a switch, releasing a strange gas that changed the color of her clothes and hair. As the gas spread she pressed the puddy to her face, spreading it to erase her features and become the Question.

The communication device Oracle gave her worked like a charm, and soon Question is connected to their network. Huntress replied first, "What do you want, Question?"

'That's friendly,' the Question thought, hiding a smile. "To save a life, hopefully," she answered coolly.

"Huh," Huntress hesitated then sighed, "Sorry, it's been a long day and looks to be a even longer night."

"I know how that feels," Question agreed.

"So," Huntress said briskly, "how can we help?"

"You're familiar with Spoiler?" Question asked.

Huntress seemed surprised, "Yes, we worked together before she faked her death."

Question leaned against her desk as she revealed the research Spoiler had been doing as well as her connection to Batgirl. "I think she's planing on going after the league of Assassins," she concluded.

"She's good," Huntress said after a moment's thought, "but not that good. What do you want us to do?"

"I understand Oracle has access to satellites," Question said, "is it possible she can monitor the city and let me know when Spoiler moves? That'll give me a chance to get some back up together for her."

"I'll ask Oracle, but I don't see why not," Huntress said.

There was a crackle and a third voice cut in, "This is Oracle. If it's to help Spoiler, I'm willing to do it."

"Thank you," Question smiled, feeling a surge of relief.

"Question," Oracle continued on, "have you considered my offer to become one of my regular agents?"

"I'm willing to help as needed," Question answered them tactfully, "but I really don't consider myself a joiner."

There was wry amusement in Oracle's voice as she replied, "Fair enough." In a brisker tone she continued, "I'll start scanning Gotham now, and if I spot Spoiler on the move I'll use this signal device to let you know."

"Thank you," Question answered.

"By the way," Huntress jumped in when Oracle signed off, "I'd like to help when you go after the League."

"We'll call you when we move out," Question promised before hanging up.

Stealthily the Question climbed out the window onto a fire escape, standing there as she looked out at the alleys of Gotham city. Drawing her trench coat around her the Question descended the stairs and walked out into the night, waiting to see what it would bring.

Like every night in Gotham there was trouble, you just needed to know where to look for it. A mugging in crime alley was dealt with quickly, the victims sent on their way out of the dangerous zone. From the bad side of town the Question fought to the good side, stopping a attempted museum heist as a group of high tech crooks ran for safety.

"Ah ah!" a figure swung down to strike a fleeing man, "Bad crook."

"Thanks Batwoman," Question smiled as she rounded up the last two men and bound their hands with police style cuffs.

"Well, a Falcone," Batwoman noted as she hauld him over, "I thought Holiday had gotten them all."

"Al Falcone," Question recognized the small, weasel-like man, "you cam from Sicily to revive the family fortunes?"

"Damn freaks," the brown haired man muttered, "before they came along the Falcone name meant something."

"It still means something," Batwoman said as they tied him up too, "it's mud, now."

The police arrived and both of them ducked into the shadows, watching as they were arrested. "Harvey," Question murmured as her old partner Bullock hauled one of the men up, hustling him towards a squad car.

"Do you miss being a cop?" Batwoman asked quietly.

"I miss the people," Question admitted, "I don't miss the dirty cops, the political pressures and all the rest of the crap."

Batwoman reached out to gently squeeze her shoulder, and they each exchanged a tired smile. "I think we can call it a night," she said softly.

"Let's," Question agreed as they walked off together.

To be continued...


	13. The Spider Returns

Alias, the Spider: Two

Teresa Ludlow-Dalt paused as the black haired woman checked the Gotham City street, covertly looking for trouble. In the months since the followers of the Seven Soldiers had begun to target her she had quickly learned caution, as well as developing other survival skills. The false Soldiers had attacked her at least once a week for the past while, both unarmed and armed, but so far she had survived the madmen's interest.

'Of course,' Teresa mused as she entered the local café, 'this probably isn't the brightest idea I ever had....' Within there was a soft murmur of conversation as men and women sat at wooden tables, old fashioned ornaments decorating the large room.

Sitting at a side table Pat Dugan's red hair was thinning but he looked much younger than he should have been, probably due to the time jump that Teresa had heard about. A original member of the Seven Soldiers as Stripsey Pat had fought beside the Spider, and was one of the few first hand sources still available. Of course, that was assuming he'd even talk to her.

"Mr. Dugan?" Teresa asked softly as she arrived at the table, "I'm Teresa Ludlow-Dalt, I called you earlier?"

"Ma'am," Pat nodded respectfully as he waved her to a seat opposite him. He looked at her thoughtfully, "Now, I understand you're writing a book?"

"Yes," Teresa took a seat, "my tentative title is Black Sheep Family, the rise and fall of the Ludlow clan."

"Tom Ludlow, The Spider," Pat nodded in recognition, frowning. "What do you know about him?" he asked.

Before she could answer a waitress arrived to take their orders, then the slim blonde hurried away. Teresa sighed, "Not as much as I'd like. He was a smuggler, kidnapper and murder who used the Spider identity to eliminate rivals to his business."

"Yeah," Pat stirred his coffee, "problem is, he was pretty damn clever about it. He certainly had me and the others fooled!"

"What was he like to work with?" Teresa asked.

"A bit too nice," Pat admitted, "there was always somethin' off about him."

Teresa looked thoughtful as she asked, "And that didn't make you suspicious?"

Pat barked a laugh, "Lady, all of us were hiding things about ourselves, it was part of being a costumed hero." He chuckled as he added, "I acted very different in costume, as did most of us, I think to try to maintain our secret identities."

"That makes sense," Teresa conceded the point. She leaned forward, "What cases did you work with him on?"

"Fighting Black Star, the Dummy, a earlier fight with the Iron Hand...," Pat chuckled at the look on her face. "Yeah, they were pretty goofy sounding."

"Considering we have a villain named Poison Ivy," Teresa smiled back as she took a drink, "we really can't laugh."

"True enough," Pat grinned just as a large window facing the street exploded inward.

"Oh hell," Teresa muttered as she grabbed Dan and yanked him down even as she kicked the table over for cover.

"Die, betrayer!" the man in the high tech suit yelled as he climbed in through the broken glass, his wrist mounted blasters firing.

"Who's this joker?" Pat demanded as blasts began to eat away at the table.

"Part of a group of nuts trying to avenge the Seven Soldiers," Teresa answered as she pulled a mini-crossbow from where she hid it in her purse. "They're after me because I'm related to the Spider."

"You've got to be kidding me," Pat blinked.

"Nope," Teresa answered as she loaded a steel bolt into her weapon. "Stay here," she ordered as she rolled out from cover.

The man in armor gleamed silver, covering him from head to toe. A black visor protected his face and the segmented armor almost reminded one of a high tech knight. Unlike a real knight, however, he had weapons mounted on each wrist, advanced energy blasters of some kind.

"In the name of the Shining Knight," he boldly said as he fired off another energy bolt in Teresa's direction, "die!"

'These guys sound like a broken record,' Teresa thought as she fired back, sending the crossbow bolt zipping right into one of the seams of the armored shoulder.

"Aiee!" the man yelped, flailing at the sudden pain as he tried to grab at the arrow shaft.

"What a maroon," Pat muttered as he charged forward, slamming into the armored figure with his shoulder and sending him staggering backward.

Teresa kicked him in the gut, glad the armor wasn't more reinforced. "Exactly," she agreed, watching him double over in pain.

"More coming," Pat noted as he looked out the window.

"Lovely," Teresa picked up a chair and swung it, bashing the armored figure right out the window at their approaching foes. "Out the back?"

"Let's go," Pat agreed as they ran through the stunned café and out the back door. He pulled out a small device and pressed it, a red light glowing brightly as they looked around.

"What's that?" Teresa asked as they emerged into a smelly, littler lined alley and ran up towards a busy street.

"Justice Society signal device," Pat answered as they came out onto a sidewalk, "I'm a reserve member."

Teresa looked both ways, frowning as she saw no immediate sign of their attackers. "Thanks," she said, "but I really hope we won't need them."

Gunfire rang out as both ducked as a man dressed in a skin-tight red bodysuit charged across the busy street, firing twin pistols. "Die, betrayer!" the Crimson Avenger wannabe yelled as car's squealed their tires to avoid hitting him.

"If my old buddy saw this guy he'd be ashamed," Pat muttered resentfully as they ducked behind a car parked on the side of the road.

"What's with the yellow fin on his head?" Teresa asked as she loaded her crossbow.

"We all make mistakes occasionally," Pat answered wryly.

"Fair enough," Teresa conceded. "I'll distract him, can you...?"

"No problem," Pat said confidently as Teresa broke from cover.

Moving quickly Teresa ran from Pat, firing her crossbow to try to wing the attacker. Crimson Avenger dodged and altered his course, apparently not caring that Pat was now behind him. "Come on," Teresa challenged, trying to keep him focused on her.

"For the seven!" Crimson Avenger took aim only to jerk as a arm grabbed him from behind. He shifted a bit then his eyes widened, "You?!"

"Yeah, me," Pat scowled, "you know who I am?"

"Stripsey," the Crimson Avenger look at him in shock, "one of the original seven!"

"Yeah," Pat scowled, "an' there's no way in hell any of my old buddies would have approved of you chasing this girl, damn it."

"But... she's a Ludlow!" Crimson Avenger said weakly.

"Yeah, and she's not responsible for her da," Pat said to him firmly as he coldly slugged the guy unconscious.

"Think that'll change his mind?" Teresa asked as she put another bolt into her crossbow.

"No," Pat conceded, "but we gotta try."

"Ye-haw, cowpokes!" a voice yelled as a lasso was whipped towards them.

"You have GOT to be kidding," Pat muttered as a cowboy dressed Vigilante stand-in sauntered up, a old fashioned pistol in hand.

Vigilante twirled the lasso with one hand as he drawled, "Which one of you varmits wants to get it first?"

"That's it," Teresa calmly shot Vigilante's hat off then met his eyes coldly, "the next shot goes about a inch lower."

Vigilante had frozen with the first shot but brought his pistol hand up, "Why you...."

The kick in the nuts took him by surprise, causing him to collapse with a whimper to the ground. "Not that's just fighting dirty," Pat noted admiringly.

"Seven against two isn't exactly fair, either," Teresa said with a smirk as she gave Vigilante another kick for good measure.

"Hey, pat!" a woman's voice called out and Pat grinned.

Descending from the sky was a girl dressed in blue, red and white, carrying a glowing staff with a hooked end. Her blonde hair fell around her face as the light shone of the white stars on her costume. "About time, Star Girl," Pat grinned, "what took you?"

Star Girl dropped to the pavement, standing a little shorter than Teresa herself. "We were rounding up the rest of these guys," she gestured to Vigilante, "they had a whole team getting ready to move in on you."

"Thank you very much," Teresa smiled, a little disturbed over being rescued by a kid younger than she was.

"You're welcome," Star Girl grinned. She looked her over, "I notice you're not in costume?"

Teresa chuckled, "You know about the whole Spider thing, huh?" She shrugged, "I haven't quite mastered the whole quick change thing yet."

"Maybe I can ask Flash to give some tips?" Star Girl winked.

"I don't think I could manage joking with him," Teresa admitted, thinking about the well respected older hero.

"We all put our pants on one leg at a time," Pat offered as they joined in with the others rounding up the false Seven Soldiers.

To be continued....

Notes: I had been meaning to catch up with Teresa earlier, but the plotline didn't allow it. Ironically, the growing attacks by the fake Seven Soldiers have actually been good training to her, and she's getting quite capable combat wise.


	14. Gotham Central

Gotham Central.

Captain Maggie Sawyer smiled slightly as the brown haired woman nodded hello to the secretaries and officers just finishing up the day shift. She strode to her office and sat down behind her desk, already considering the night's tasks. "Stacy," she called, "had any luck reaching Montoya?"

Stacy leaned on the doorway as the administrative assistant sighed. "For a detective," she said, "Renee's pretty bad about picking up our messages." She hesitated, "Or she's dodging you."

Maggie made a face at that, but she couldn't disagree. After Renee left the force Maggie had done her best to reach out to her, seeing her falling into a spiral of drinking and anger. But something, what Maggie didn't know, had pulled Renee out of that spiral and she now was operating as a private eye.

"Keep trying," Maggie said. She looked thoughtful, "I heard a rumor she was seeing Kate Kane... can you look into it?"

"Our Renee and a socialite?" Stacy raised her eyebrows. "Will do!"

Maggie smiled as she shook her head, watching through the window as her officers filed in. With Commissioner Gordon back in charge they were getting much better support from city hall and morale was generally pretty high. The regular assistance of costumed vigilantes was also helping, though Maggie was of mixed feelings about that.

On one hand, back when Maggie had served in Metropolis she had worked closely with Superman, even following his lead in several crises. But unlike the Batman she had found Superman reasonably open, willing to share information and assist in building cases. Batman and his allies, on the other hand, were largely secretive and covert, rarely sticking around to help cops make cases to prosecute their foes.

'Of course, I'm also under orders from Gordon to cooperate, so I guess I'm stuck,' Maggie admitted to herself as she got up to get some coffee.

"Evening Captain," Ellen Yin nodded, the rookie dropping off papers for several of the night shifters. The black haired young woman was a very good patrol officer with potential and Maggie had resolved to try to help her wherever she could.

Maggie picked up the pot and looked skeptically at the brown fluid, "How old is this?"

David Cornwell shrugged as the night shifter said, "To be honest I just nuked my cup and chewed it."

"Ugh," Maggie poured the gunk out and made more.

Harvey Bullock was a big, bulky man, his expression dour and suspicious. Since his return to the force alongside Gordon he had operated carefully within the rules, but Maggie still didn't trust him. In her experience a copper who crossed the line and killed a criminal, no matter how justified, would do it again.

"Harv," Maggie said as she passed his desk, "you busy?"

"Not too busy for you," Harvey answered, getting to his feet and following her in.

Maggie sat down behind her desk, hiding her distaste. "You've been doing good work clearing cases lately," she said.

"Thnks," Harvey said a bit warily.

Flashing a smile Maggie said, "As you know, the only reward for good work is more work." As Harvey smiled back reluctantly she asked, "You've met Yin?"

"Apple polisher," Harvey answered automatically, "but a good kid."

"I'd like you to partner with her," Maggie admitted. "She's taking the detective exam but is pretty damn green in Gotham. I want you to help her get used to the city and the sort of players she'll have to deal with."

"Can do," Harvey surprised her with a smile, "kinda reminds me of when I worked with Renee back in the day."

Maggie nodded, "Exactly my thought." As she handed him a edited version of Yin's file she asked, "Have you heard from Renee?"

Harvey shook his head regretfully, "She still bears a grudge over... all the stuff from when I was last a cop." He sighed, "I'm hoping I can get through to her."

"I'd like to get her back on the force," Maggie admitted.

Again Harvey surprised her, this time shaking his had no as she firmly said, "No, it ain't gonna happen."

Maggie gave him a frown, "Oh?"

Harvey met her eyes calmly, "Mags, her partner was killed by a fellow cop. Well, a CSI, but you know what I mean." As Maggie reluctantly nodded he added, "And then he got away with it. No wonder she feels betrayed."

"All true," Maggie conceded with a sigh. Of Course, Corrigan had been shot but not by a lawman, instead the son of Renee's partner had to fo it. It was something that still haunted Maggie, their one great failure. She met his eyes as she added, "It happened on my watch, too."

Harvey said gently, "She don't blame you, Cap'n.'

Maggie shrugged slightly, "I blame myself."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Commissioner James Gordon stood on the roof, contemplating the Bat-signal. It had become a trusted friend and occasional publicity problem to the Gotham City Police Department down through the years. Still, he knew it was good to have, especially in a crisis.

"You haven't turned it on," the voice came out of the shadows as Gordon nearly jumped in surprise. He recognized the voice itself, of course, and looking around he saw those eerie white eyes staring out of the darkness,

James took out his pipe, more out of practice than any need to smoke. "Not needed yet. It's been a fairly quiet night so far," he remarked.

"So far," Batman said in his usual growl."Did that tip I gave I gave you on the new Ventriloquist bear out?"

"Caught a fair number of her goons,:" James sounded a bit annoyed, :"but she got away from us again with those damn exploding dummies of hers."

"Reily is getting more wily," Batman admitted grumpily, "I'm going to have to concentrate on bringing her down."

James gave him a curious look, "With the other adventurers appearing in Gotham, I'd expect you to have more time available."

A slight smile appeared on the shadowed figure's face as he said, "No matter how many of us there are, there never seems to be enough."

:True," Gordon conceded, knowing how adding cops never seemed to make a dent in the city's crime rate. He looked rather sheepish, "There was something I was going to ask you...."

"Oh?" Batman tilted his head to the side questioningly.

"It's Oracle," James shrugged slightly, "could you remind her to stay under my radar, please?"

Batman hid a slight smile. "Why can't you tell her yourself?" he asked even though he suspected why.

James sighed, "I'm trying not to officially acknowledge her existence. I found out about Oracle when I was retired, so officially I don't have to concede she exists."

Batman chuckled, "I'll pass the message along."

"It was easier when I was just pretending I didn't know she was Batgirl," James sighed, scratching at his thinning hair.

"I'd best get going," Batman moved into the light a moment then was gone, "good luck."

"You too," James smiled before heading to the rood door and going downstairs.

The route to his office was slowed by officers greeting him, warm expressions of trust and friendship. The Gotham PD had missed Gordon while he was gone, and much of the rank and file still wanted to offer their greetings or welcome him back. Well, everyone but the corrupt cops Gordon had swiftly uprooted on his return, in part deposing the current commissioner at the time.

'Poor Atkins,' Gordon mused, 'but when you're the man in the hot seat you can't claim ignorance. If you didn't know, you should have.'

A familiar looking woman lounged by the door to his office, resembling one of many cops waiting to talk to the boss. But this red-brown haired woman was no longer a cop, and her rare appearances tended to brighten Gordon's day.

"Renee!" Gordon smiled, picking up the pace to reach the younger woman's side, "come in, come in."

"Thanks," Renee Montoya agreed as she followed Gordon inside. She reached into her overcoat and produced a computer disk, "Here's the surveilance on Officer Rebecca Mulcahey you asked for."

"What's the news?" Gordon asked, bracing himself a bit when he saw Renee's tense expression.

Reluctantly Renee said, "I'm sorry, Jim. She's still dirty." Reaching out to tap the disk she said, "I've got her on film taking bribes and returning evidence to criminals."

James Gordon winced visibly, "The missing cocaine?"

"You got it," Renee nodded. "I'm not sure my files are useable in court, considering my bias towards her, but it should be enough to open a investigation."

"I'll pass it on to internal affairs," he agreed. James gave her a thoughtful look as he tried again, "We could really use you back on the force...."

"I'm already dodging Maggie's calls," Renee rolled her eyes, "don't make me start with you, too." Giving him a wry smile she added, "I think I'm doing about as well as could be expected going private, and besides who else could you hire to look into your bad apples off the books?"

"True enough," James agreed. He leaned forward, "I guess I just miss having you around."

Renee gave him a surprisingly gentle smile, "Well, I'm not in a hurry. Catch me up on the gossip and I'll let drop a few interesting names in the circles I move in too."

To be continued!


	15. League of Asassins

In the Shadow of the Bat

League Of Assassins

Nyssa Raatko smiled grimly as the heir to the Demon's Head warily watched her sister emerge from the airplane on the small airfield out on the edge of town. Unlike her Talia had a more European look, her dark hair and faintly tinted skin granting the impression of royalty. 'Unlike I,' Nyssa admitted, knowing she looked more like a gypsy than a model.

"Watch yourself," Cassandra Cain warned softly as her eyes watched the passengers as well as the stewardesses and crew, "I see Shiva over there. And I think there are several members of her branch of the Assassins along too."

"Are our people also ready?" Nyssa murmured, wearing a armor jacket and long pants. It wasn't that she didn't trust her sister, she trusted her to be deadly and treacherous. It was in both of their natures, really, inherited from their father.

"Snipers are in position, as are the guards," Cass answered coldly.

"Archers?" Nyssa wondered.

"High powered rifles," Cass replied to her dryly as she added with a smile, "it's about time we moved into the twenty-first century."

"Well done," Nyssa whispered as Talia and the others reached them.

"Nyssa, beloved sister," Talia smiled insenserely.

"Talia, dear sister," Nyssa agreed as she kissed her cheek. "You look well."

"Thank you," Talia nodded. "I finished up my service with the Society, and now I'm attending to personal projects. How is the training going?"

"Mother," Cass nodded respectfully to the woman commonly known as Lady Shiva, taking in the similar shape of their faces, matching stances and all of the other similarities. 'How did I not see it before?' she wondered.

"Daughter," Shiva acknowledged flatly. "You did not kill me, last time we met."

A slight smile teased Cass' lips, "I did kill you, it just wasn't permanent."

Shiva nodded slightly, "True."

"Will we have to try again?" Cass asked, tensing just a bit in preperation.

"No," Talia cut them off firmly. "This is not the time to be settling old grudges," she informed them both firmly.

"Understood," Shiva agreed.

Nyssa nodded and Cass relaxed just slightly. "As you wish," she agreed as the drivers opened up the two waiting stretch limos.

"Take your pick," Nyssa offered politely.

Talia nodded to two of her followers, who swiftly examined the vehicles before nodding their approval. "We'll take the first one," she smiled as her team took a silent cue and began to smoothly climb in.

"We'll meet you at the safe house, then," Nyssa said respectfully.

"We cannot go straight to the new training hall?" Talia demanded grouchily.

Nyssa gave her a steady look, "You have not heard of operational security?" She sniffed, "You may enjoy people in costumes dropping into your bases, but I do not."

Talia reared up in anger, then deflated a bit as she realized she was right. "Of course," she conceded, "you know your security section better than I."

"Follow us in," Nyssa nodded as she boarded the limo, trusting the snipers to stay in position until needed later. "Is the route clear?" Nyssa asked as she settled on one of the seats, Cass sitting down by her side.

Cass nodded shortly, "Yes, Nyssa. I have covert teams scattered along the route as a precaution, as well." The two side of the Assassins had been covertly snipping at each other ever since Cass had defeated Shiva, but a all out war would leave them far to vulnerable to their enemies. Therefore Cass and Nyssa had to make sure their enemies were all right, or risk triggering a destructive war.

Her thoughts clearly echoing Cass' Nyssa said, "Politics make for strange bedfellows."

"That it does," Cass agreed as they drove through town, eventually stopping at a small hotel. They arranged for Talia and her servants to check in, then they lead them to the basement and the warren of tunnels that crisscrossed the town.

"Clever," Talia admitted as they walked along a torch lined hallway.

"It gives our guests a convenient access," Nyssa said, "as well as allowing us access to potential threats to the League. We have tunnels connecting to all the local hotels, in fact."

"And police," Cass smiled coldly, "as well as much of the city government. Of course, they don't know who we really are."

"Oh?" Talia asked.

Cass smirked, "They think they're being paid off for a smuggling operation by the American mafia. We even have some smuggled weapons and other items to back up the story if we have to abandon the base."

"Why do you hide?" Strike asked, the yellow and black clad assassin trailing behind his mistress Talia, "You should be proud...."

"Should I silence the fool?" Cass offered dryly.

"Do not question your betters," Shiva struck, slamming Strike against a way. "Little fool," she broke his arm casually, "we are assassins! Secrecy is our greatest weapon. If the enemy does not know we exist, they cannot save themselves!"

"I...," Shrike whimpered in pain, "I am most sorry, Lady. Please, accept my apology."

"My lady?" Shiva looked at Talia.

"He has potential," Talia conceded, "don't kill him yet."

Shiva let him go, stepping away with a faintly happy smile. "Next time," she purred to Shrike.

"Shall I let my healers help him?" Nyssa wondered as they set out once more.

"No, leave him be," Talia smiled coldly, "a little pain may be educational."

Cass made a mental note to check up on Strike later. He would resent having been made a fool of, and might want to take steps against them later. They walked out of the tunnel into a wider reception area where several guards watched attentively, near enough to act but far enough away to give them a chance against throwing blades or other weapons.

Shiva swept the room with her eyes, mentally cataloging the layout as she followed Talia in. "You made some changes," Talia noted.

"A few," Nyssa smiled without elaborating. "We're working with our latest trainees, would you care to see?"

"Not right now," Talia said, "we have things to discuss."

"I can take you...," Cass started.

"Alone," Talia said firmly.

Nyssa met her eyes a moment, then she nodded slightly, "We'll go to my quarters, we can talk safely there."

"I should be with you," Cass whispered.

"She won't try to kill me," Nyssa answered softly, "not this directly."

Cass made a face, "Be careful."

Nyssa stopped to caress her cheek then kissed Cass lingeringly. "Always," she vowed.

To be continued....


	16. Red Hood

Red Hood

There was a freedom in operating in New York, rather than Gotham. For all his life Jason Todd had felt like he had struggled in the shadow of another, and only in death had he escaped it. Now reborn in a cruel twist of fate Jason sought to establish his own identity under the name Red Hood. The faceless red mask gave Jason a eerie look as he scouted the gangsters, crouching in hiding. He listened to them plan, soaking up information, his hearing enhanced by a few useful pieces of technology.

"Damn it, the freaks are even heading to New York," one of the ground level mooks complained, "a friend says he saw this goofy red domed guy."

'Red domed?' Jason thought, feeling faintly insulted.

"It's Red Hood," the leader, a man called Vinnie the Snake, said coldly. He swept the room with a reptilian gaze, "He's more trouble than the usual cape."

"Yeah?" the unoriginally named Lefty asked.

"The Hood will kill," Vinnie said seriously.

The group dispersed, the men moving out as Jason digested the information he had gained. Part of him had been tempted to just shoot the lot, but it was early for that sort of step. He wanted the criminal network to be afraid, to spread the word that he was in the city and hunting them. That fear would be just one of the advantages Jason would need.

Slipping away Jason found a convenient alley where he removed his globe like mask and reversed the red jacket he wore. Now in a seeming jean jacket and looking mildly harmless he slipped out of the alley and into the passing crowd.

"Hotdogs, get yer hotdogs here!" a vendor yelled, the grizzled older man standing behind his battered old stand.

Jason walked up as he smiled and said, "I'll take one."

"Onions? Relish?" the old man asked as he smiled back, "Four bucks."

"Here ya go," Jason passed him five, "keep the change."

"Hey, thanks," he passed the hotdog and bun over in a napkin as he warned, "Careful, it's hot."

"Hmm, good," Jason munched as he walked away, enjoying the food.

New York has such a different feel than Gotham. It wasn't that it was safer than Gotham, Jason knew he had to be on his guard, watching the crowds and street while being ready to move. In some ways he thought it was more the lack of random chaos that existed. Unlike Gotham which had the largest percentage of costumed nuts in North America, New York was fairly sedate. Just normal gang bangers, gun runners and the people who profited from them.

As Jason walked and ate he watched the corners, seeing the people lingering there. It didn't take much effort to see the money and pouches exchange hands, discovering his targets of interest. He spotted the dealers first, then waited for suppliers. Finally he watched the dealers sending money off with bag men, back to the boss. He observed the chain operating in several places, then began to consider what to do.

'Follow a bag man back,' Jason decided, carefully shadowing one as he followed him down the alleys and over the streets. He hung back far enough to keep from being spotted, soon arriving in what would be considered a bad neighborhood, run down buildings and garbage on the streets.

"I'm here to see Julio," the bagman said, his brown hair tied back in a ponytail.

The man guarding the door nodded as he opened it, "Go on in."

Jason watched from a alley at first, then decided a higher vantage might be better. With a bit of effort he was soon up on a rooftop, watching the goings on thoughtfully. Several bagmen stopped in to make payments, all echoing the same phrase. 'Password?' Jason wondered. He couldn't see inside and therefore didn't know how much money was changing hands, but he guessed it was a fair amount.

'Time to get to work,' Jason thought as he pulled back from the edge of the roof. He pulled off and flipped around his jacket then removed the collapsable hood, locking the red plastic around his face. He took a deep breath making sure the breathing connections worked, then nodded.

The doorman scratched his chin as he warily watched the street. It was a boring job, hanging out here on the street, but he accepted that it was necessary too. Someone had to be out here to sound the alarm if cops or another gang hit them, but he didn't have to like it.

'Who is this freak?' he thought as the man in a oddly featureless red mask walked up to the stairway he guarded. "What do you want?" he demanded, putting his hand on the pistol that was hidden in his coat pocket.

The knife was moving before the mook could react as Jason stabbed him in one smooth motion, stepping forward to catch him as he fell. Kicking the door open Jason strode in, pulling the fatally stabbed man behind him as he did so. 'One down,' he thought grimly.

Shutting the door bought Jason some time as he walked down the hall, eyes sweeping as he mentally cataloged the first floor. Run down but cleaner than the outside, arms and weapons in one room, a bunch of guards in another.

"What the hell," the one man yelped, grabbing at a gun even as Jason opened fire at them with a machine pistol.

There was a grim satisfaction in gunning the men down before they could fire, punching a aimed shot in each of them. The room was small enough that Jason could have just used the 'spray and pray' method of randomly pouring on firepower, but he hated to waste the ammo. He grabbed a loaded pistol as a spare then moved on, his pace a bit quicker. With the shots fired the crooks definately knew that he was here.

The gun man hurried from upstairs, clutching a pistol in a sweaty hand. He had told the boss that this old townhouse was too exposed, but the old man hadn't listened. "The boys can find it and it's close to the dealers," Bennet had nodded wisely, "it'll do."

'And now it's gonna get us killed,' he thought cynically as he hit the ground floor, eyes sweeping the hall. Before he could react the red faced man appeared from a doorway, gun firing almost soundlessly as he moved confidently forward.

Jason headed to the stairs, certain he had cleared up the first floor. For a moment he wished he just had enough explosives to blow the building, but he quickly dismissed the thought. He might be more ruthless than some, but detonating a building would take too many innocents with it.

"Get the lieutenant out," the surviving gunman ordered the young tough, watching the hall connecting to the stairway.

"But Mickey!" the teen demanded, holding a cheaply made .38, "You can take him!"

Mickey shook his head, "This guy is a pro. We need to get the money out, not to mention telling Mr. Bennet what happened."

"He's right," the lieutenant agreed, her long brown hair falling around her face. Ms Nil was a rarilty, a woman rising high in the ranks of a street gang, and even worse was a outsider, brought in by Bennet to oversee this job.

"Get out of here," Mickey ordered, "now!"

Just then a hand grenade rolled down the hall, the pin obviously out. "Run!" Nil yelled, grabbing the boy and the briefcase of money and bolting off down the hall.

Jason felt a slight twinge of admiration as the hood threw himself on the grenade, muffling the explosion with his body. Jason calmly swept the upper floor, shooting anyone left as he followed the hall to a open rear window. 'Damn they got out using the fire escape,' he scowled beneath his mask. It was times like this he wished he had a side kick...

Turning away he collected the remaining money, despising having to take it but knowing he had to finance his crime fighting somehow. The massive quantity of abandoned drugs he piled up on the first floor then used a self contained thermal charge to burn it to a puddle of chemical sludge. He kept a eye on it till it burned out, using a fire extinguisher to make sure the building itself didn't go up, then exited at a run.

'Wonder if anyone even called 911?' Jason wondered cynically as he stripped off his mask and changed his jacket. 'If not I'll go do it from a pay phone,' he mused as he walked away as casually as possible.

To be continued....

Notes: While I'm not a big fan of Jason Todd, I thought he was rather badly mistreated in 'Battle for the Cowl' a few months back. Yes, he's a gun toting vigilante but he is NOT someone who'd murder former allies and kill innocents. So this is my take on him.


	17. Who is the Penguin?

In the Shadow of the Bat

Who is the Penguin?

Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot panted softly as the short man ran for his life, his dark hair in disarray and his suit stained. Normally he tried to maintain the look of a gentleman, but now he splashed through the sewers, following his carefully planned escape route to freedom as he wondered how it had all gone so wrong.

'How, how?!' he thought, pausing to rest a moment. Things had been going so well for Penguin lately. His Iceberg Lounge was doing well, his side business of 'assisting' criminals with escapes and new identities was making him a tidy sum and his cashing in on his former criminal lifestyle was making him quite a profit. How could it all come crashing down so quickly?

"Come on, Mr. Cobblepot!" the woman's voice came from up the tunnel, "Make it easier on yourself. I promise to make it quick."

"Never!" Oswald barked, forcing himself to run once more.

Somehow over the past few weeks someone had leveraged away his ownership of the Iceberg Lounge, revealed to the police incriminating details of his underground railroad and now, apparently, was targeting his life. He had barely escaped the bombing of his home, and now he fled for his life with only his shotgun umbrella for protection.

'And I still have my Swiss bank accounts,' Oswald thought with a half smile. If he could escape this hunt he could start over. Not as well of as he had been, of course, but with enough resources to carry on. 'And to avenge this indignity,' he thought bitterly.

The Penguin splashed through the sludge and filth, feeling a flash of relief as he neared the marker etched in the stone wall. The cavern up ahead had been one of his old bases, back in the day, and now was his emergency hide out. It had more themed equipment, a boat, and the other resources he needed to escape the city.

'There.' Oswald went around the corner with a sigh of relief, only to freeze in surprise. The raised platform with most of his stuff waited was now occupied by several men with guns, fanned out to get a good spread of fire.

From behind him a eerie voice noted, "I see you found our little surprise."

Oswald turned to see the pale blonde who lead the rest of the goons up the hall, her expression coldly amused. Linda Friitawa had actually started out in the Penguin's employ, a biologist whom he had hired to tamper with the Scarecrow. Without his knowledge Linda had applied the Scarecrow's experiments with her own biological research, turning herself into the superhuman Fright.

"Well, it's been a long time," Oswald said with as much dignity as he could muster. "Are you the author of my recent troubles?"

"No," Fright shook her head with a smile, "that would be my new employer." She nodded towards the gunmen on the platform.

Oswald looked up at the platform as them men split, revealing the figure standing there. His lips twitched up in a smile, he chuckled then laughed, shaking his head. "Oh, I see," he had to smile even though he suspected it was going to get him killed, "a Penguin, indeed."

"Yes," the new Penguin agreed. A head was tilted to the side thoughtfully, "I bear you no ill will, Mr Cobblepot. If I let you go, will you leave Gotham?"

"I...," Oswald started.

"Fright, some truth serum, please," the Penguin ordered.

Oswald yelped as Fright touched him, her skin secreting chemicals that were rapidly absorbed into his system. Penguin repeated the question and Oswald felt his mouth move almost against his will, "I'm sorry, but I would have to kill you. Nothing personal, just business."

"That's what I thought," Penguin sighed. "Kill him."

Gunshots rang out as muzzles flashed, and in a splash of blood the man once known as Penguin, Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot, was dead.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"You're kidding," Stephanie Brown blinked as she read the paper, the black haired young woman looking at the cover story in shock.

'The Penguin is Dead!' the headline declared, a photo beneath showing the body found on a alley in Gotham. He was dressed in one of his usual tuxedos, this one stained in blood from bullet wounds through the chest. Dani Grayton's story was well written, summarizing the investigation so far as well as the search for suspects.

Steph hesitated a moment then picked up her prepaid cellphone, purchased under her cover identity as Steph Black. She dialed the pager number then hung up, knowing it would ring soon enough. With that done she walked across the loft to the kitchen, scrambling a egg as she kept an eye on the toast.

*ring!* The phone called out just as Steph was finishing off her food, and she casually grabbed it as she washed down some egg with slightly stale orange juice. "Hey," she smiled as she hit the on button, "how are you, Tim?"

"Busy," Tim Drake aka Robin answered wryly. "You calling about the Penguin?"

"It wasn't really him, was it?" Steph had to asked, getting up from the table as she considered what to do today.

"We confirmed it," Robin answered frankly, not mentioning who 'we' was, both of them knowing he was talking about Batman.

"Why kill Penguin?" Steph wondered aloud. "He's not a major player anymore, not with the Shark around running things. In fact he hasn't been a big name in years."

"You thinking of investigating?" Robin asked neutrally.

Steph sighed as she admitted, "I need a distraction from Cass."

Spoiler, along with several other heroes had attempted a covert entry into New Carthage, trying to determine the status of the League of Assassins. Their attempt failed, the team being ambushed on their way into town by costumed operatives, pressumedly recruited by the League. While the others were fighting Steph had been approached by Batgirl, who had offered her a chance to join the League. Of course, Steph turned her down.

"Yeah," Robin sighed too. "It looks pretty much open and shut on the surface," he noted, "though Batman and I are looking into some odd undercurrents."

Steph thought a moment, "Who's running the Iceberg Lounge? Is it still open?"

"Exactly," Robin agreed. He sounded rather amused, "I'd tell you to stay out of it, but I know you wouldn't. Just be careful, all right?"

"Yes daddy," Steph teased with a laugh, then the two said their goodbyes.

In street clothes Steph headed out later, taking a deep breath of the air in the West End neighborhood. This part of town fell under the protection of Catwoman, the semi-reformed cat burgler. She had only met her in passing, so far, but looked forward to working with the woman. Steph didn't throw stones at Catwoman's background, considering her own checkered past.

"Hey!" Cat Flores called, the black haired woman actually smiling as they passed by on the street. A former heroine as Tarantula Cat was slowly recovering her dignity and sense of self-worth, a process assisted by Steph calling on her as backup recently. They had stopped a character costumed as the Electrocutioner, as well as patrolling in other parts of Gotham.

"Hey," Steph nodded with a smile. "You busy tonight? I think there's some interesting stuff going on...."

"The Penguin?" Cat nodded, "I heard." The former FBI looked serious as she added, "Looks like a gang hit of some kind."

Respecting her opinion Steph asked, "Any idea who?"

"No word on the street," Cat answered her honestly, "and if it's a new player on the scene it could be big trouble."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

The office wasn't near the Iceberg Lounge, in fact it wasn't associated with any of the past haunts of the Penguin. Fright knocked respectfully then headed inside, pausing as she waited to be noticed. Catching her employer's attention she reported, "Cobblepot's money and resources are now yours. We're ready to start operations."

"Do the men have the descriptions?" the woman behind the desk ordered.

"Yes, the original photos and aged," Fright said. "We're ready to go."

"Do it," she ordered, watching Fright leave. She rose to look out at Gotham, taking in the chaotic city outside the window. Sister Sara of the Order of Saint Dumas, whom some called the Penguin, sighed softly. "I don't do this because I want to," she murmured, "but to find you, Azrael."

To be continued....


	18. The Deeper Dark

In the Shadow of the Bat

The Deeper Dark

Gotham was a dark place and even as it's heroes brought light to the shadows, some things simply scurried away into the deeper darkness. A certain breed of hero chased them even into the deepest shadows, having been touched themselves by the same darkness....

Beneath the streets of Gotham the white skinned figure shambled down the sewers, his ragged clothes hanging from a inhumanly muscled frame. "Solomon Grundy, born on a Monday," the lumbering giant muttered to himself as it stumbled along mindlessly. Solomon Grundy had once been a human being, but his death in Slaughter Swamp had transformed him into a uncanny fusion of plant and man. Now guided by clouded memory and confused instinct he wandered the country, killing by accident more than intent.

Watching from the shadows Rory Regan followed along silently, watching the creature warily. As the Ragman he had the power to defeat the thing, but he preferred to try and guide Grundy away from people. The thing was immortal, he couldn't be killed by any conventional means, and Rory didn't see the point of wasting his time fighting.

"Rory, did you find it yet?" the bored woman's voice asked from mid-air, getting both his attention, and, sadly, Grundy's.

"Enchantress, your timing sucks!" Rory yelped as Grundy wheeled around and charged at him, bellowing like a mad bull. The rag costume flowed around him like water as Ragman dodged, a rope of rags forming to bind Grundy. "Get me out of here!" he called to her through the communication spell that connected them.

"Sorry," Enchantress sounded amused as the sorceress added, "too much iron between me and you. I'll see if I can find you some help, tho."

"Urgh!" Grundy grunted as he strained with inhuman strength, white muscles bulging. With a massive effort it burst free, the rags swirling apart then reforming into Ragman's costume.

The costume of Ragman was made up of the souls of evildoers, trapped inside the pieces of cloth. When the suit consumed a evil person they were forced to serve the wearer, increasing his strength, speed and other talents. In return the trapped souls worked off a kind of penance for the evil they did, eventually being released into a higher plane.

Drawing on those trapped souls Ragman sprinted away at inhuman speeds, hurrying towards the mouth of the sewer. Behind him he could hear Grundy hurrying after him, the thing almost inhumanly quiet otherwise as it lumbered along relentlessly. He broke out of the sewer and turned, waiting for Grundy to emerge.

"Little man," Grundy growled, charging at him before a burst of green fire scooped up the muddy earth around him.

The original Green Lantern's ring flared as he scooped up more mud and dirt, compressing it around the fiercely struggling Grundy until he was still. "Thanks for drawing him out," the older blonde haired man noted, his purple and green cape fluttering around him. "Your teammate told me that Grundy was loose and about where you were."

"Thanks, though I was really just trying to lead him out of town," Ragman admitted. He looked up at the glowing mud ball that was holding Grundy captive and asked Green Lantern, "Why not just zap him directly?"

"My ring doesn't work well on wood," Green Lantern told him before flying away in a burst of green light, "and Grundy is partially that."

Rory watched him go until he disappeared against the light from the swiftly setting sun. "My life is just TOO odd," he sighed to himself as he banished his costume and made his slow way back into the city he helped guard.

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

Green Lantern smiled wryly as he flew away from the oddly dressed hero. Still, while Ragman might have looked runny there was no doubting his courage in facing a killer like Grundy. Even his magic couldn't stop the beast, all Alan could do was bury him in Slaughter Swamp again and hope it would be a while before her was reborn.

Gotham at night glittered beneath Alan Scott as the red, green and purple clad man flew, familiar towers dating back decades mixed with new construction after the quake had nearly leveled the city. He had been this city's champion for nearly seventy years but now it seemed unfamiliar to him, almost like a new city.

'Of course some of that's your fault too,' Alan reminded himself as he flew on to the swamp, using his ring to drive the mud encased Grundy as deep into the earth as he could. Randomly the swamp would revive Grundy once more, hopefully in a more peaceful form this time.

When Green Lantern first started out, he primarily stayed in Gotham, fighting the gangsters and crooks that seemed to crop up like weeds. But when the Justice Society formed and the war hit, he found himself more and more away from home. Of course he came back and cleaned up the town again and again, but it got harder and harder every time. Then there was the hearings, a investigation into communist leanings and most of the JSA quit rather than be forced to reveal their identities.

'Which was a mistake,' Alan admitted as he flew back to town.

His retirement let the gangs flourish in Gotham, as well as sink their claws into the police and local government. When he eventually un-retired he found it almost impossible to clean up the town, instead barely putting out the worst fires. And he still had the reformed JSA taking up his time too, dealing with threats to great to ignore.

'Thank goodness for the new kids,' Green Lantern smiled as he flew to the broadcast tower that was his home, as well as his business. Batman and the adventurers who followed him first rose up during his retirement, and while they didn't necessarily operate like he did they did a good job. So much so that he left the usual street level crime to them, devoting himself to the more... exotic threats that rose up.

Landing on the tower Green Lantern willed his costume away and Alan Scott took the elevator down into his home. 'I should check in on Molly,' he thought fondly of his wife. A wry smile teased his lips, 'I wonder if Jack Ryder got that story he promised for tomorrow?'

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

Meanwhile in another part of the city, a group of felons fled down a alley, chased by mad, cackling laughter. Max was a experienced hood, or so he thought, having henched for several villains this last few months, but this was seriously creeping the young man out.

Green hair and yellow skin caught the light ass the creature laughed madly, his strange red cloak swirling around him. "No evil escapes the Creeper!" he laughed.

Jamie spun around, grabbing Max as they looked for some way to escape. "We can take him!" Max complained as his mentor dragged him off.

"I told you before," she said as they watched the Creeper bounce acrobatically through the crooks, pounding them easily, "capes always win."

"Shit," Max cursed as they fled into the evening twilight.

Creeper saw them go, but he was a bit too busy to give chase as he put down too more crooks, still laughing. He was really as human as anyone but Jack Ryder had learned to play up his 'cackling monster' act as it unnerved the crooks. A final series of punches dropped the last goon, leaving him alone in the night.

Activating the switch on his glove he reverted to Jack Ryder, investigative TV reporter. The black haired man in business suit made his way out of the alley's of Gotham, heading towards his car as he clutched the papers he had acquired raiding the Intergang base.

'It was risky,' Ryder thought as he unlocked his car and got in, 'but worth it.'

Returning to his studio he made some calls then Ryder went on the air, revealing what he had discovered about Intergang while also calling for the 'capture' of the criminal Creeper. He had ranted about his alter ego for years this way, hopefully keeping people from realizing they were one and the same person.

Returning to his office Ryder loosened his tie, sitting down with a sigh. "That wasn't wise," a woman's voice came from the darkness.

"Aah!" Jack jerked in surprise as he swiveled around, seeing a figure in black and red standing in the shadows. "Batwoman?" he asked.

The redhead slinked out of the shadows, her costume mostly black with a red bat on her chest. "Intergang is not going to take this lying down," she cautioned him calmly.

"I'm not frightened of Intergang," Jack said flatly.

"You should be," Batwoman said coolly. "They are part of a network that spans the world, with armies of cultists who could storm this building and kill everyone in it."

Jack leaned forward as he challenged her, "So why don't they?"

Batwoman disappeared into the darkness but her voice carried as she answered, "Because they don't need to. Yet."

"I swear, that woman is creepier than I am," Jack sighed, shaking his head.

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

Selena Kyle, the woman known as Catwoman, did not consider herself a hero but she wouldn't claim to be a villain either. What she did was protect her neighborhood, the East End of Gotham, and try to stay under the radar of people like Batman. It wasn't as easy as it sounded, but she got a certain amount of satisfaction kicking ass wearing her leather bodysuit and goggles.

"Oh, you have GOT to be kidding me!" Max yelped as his second job that night was disrupted by a crazy in costume. Some nights, it just wasn't worth getting out of bed.

Catwoman smiled wryly as she said, "Having a rough night?"

"You could say that," Jamie agreed, struggling a little in the leather whip that Catwoman had snapped around them so expertly. She looked over at their captor, wishing she could see her eyes through the goggles, "I suppose you couldn't just let us go? My friend's rent is due, or we wouldn't even be out here right now."

"Huh," Catwoman sat back on her haunches, her expression thoughtful as she studied them. "All right, I'll make you an offer," she decided.

"Yeah?" Max asked warily, wondering what the catch might be.

"I'll let you go if you don't try any more robberies," Catwoman offered, "and if you show up in the East End looking for a job tomorrow, I'll put in a good word for you."

"Huh," Max looked thoughtful, the young man imagining how many nights he could go on being a crook before the life caught up to him.

Jamie looked at Catwoman, "We'll take it."

With a flick of her wrist Catwoman loosened the whip, pulling it free of them then calmly rolled it up. "I won't expect to see you tomorrow," she said as she walked away, "but I hope I will." And with that she was gone disappearing into the night.

Max and Jamie walked out of the East End, the darkness lightening as they neared the dawn. "You going to do it?" Max asked, his hands in the pockets of his rumpled suit as they waited for a taxi. Not that walking might be faster, considering Gotham's taxi service....

"I'll give it a try," Jamie admitted. She smiled slightly, "If I don't like the straight and narrow, I can always go back."

Max brightened, "That's true."

To be continued....

Notes: Ragman is mostly a member of the Shadowpact now, but he started off in Gotham City. The original Green Lantern is a Gotham based hero rarely featured in any other Gotham set series, so I assume he's mostly off dealing with JSA stuff and possibly guarding against magical threats. For Creeper I went with his original science origin and the transformation implant, rather than the recent change that he was grafted to a demon. Yes, that's Max and Jamie from a few chapters back. I figured, why not reuse them?


	19. Another Friday Night

Another Friday night...

Batwoman crashed through the skylight, drawing the criminal's attention as the redhead's cape fluttered around her. She landed gracefully as the men started, shocked, then with a feral cry they charged forward. With a almost casual gesture she extended her battle staff then ripped into them, using it and her martial arts skills to hold them back.

Question smiled as she used the distraction to slip inside, quietly collecting documents the criminals had been going over. Once that was done she tool a gas bomb from her leather jacket and tossed it into the chaos, then charged in fists swinging.

Grinning Batwoman reached the Question as they fought back to back against their numerous foes, the tide turning against their foes despite the seeming bad odds. The gas plus their superior skills finally won the day, and within a few minutes they were surrounded by stunned men as the rest fled blindly into the night.

"About time you got here," Batwoman joked, leaning tiredly against her lover.

"I like being fashionably late," Question joked back, smiling under her faceless mask. Gently she asked, "You all right?"

"I'm fine," she gently reassured her, Batwoman straightening up as they stepped over the stunned men covering the ground. "Well, there's Geist, and that's Mr. Positive, the west side dealer." she noted two of the out cold men.

"Called the police already," Question nodded. She patted her jacket, "And it looks like they were planning something, so we'll go over this later."

Batwoman nodded as they heard alarms off in the distance, "Let's go."

Both would have liked to wait around to talk with the cops, but the police in Gotham had a uneasy relationship with their resident vigilantes. Officially they did not approve of costumed heroes and were supposed to arrest then, but unofficially Commissioner Gordon and others had worked with Batman. Beat cops and detectives were left to decide how to handle the costumed heroes themselves, and their reactions varied a lot.

Captain Maggie Sawyer frowned as her team of officers collected the men, the brown haired older woman considering the voice of the woman who phoned in the tip. She couldn't be sure, the voice was muffled, but she thought it was Renee Montoya.

"I want Geist and Mr. Positive questioned," Maggie ordered as the men were hauled into the armored transports, "and run everyone through the database."

"CSI is tagging and bagging the drugs," Harvey Bullock noted, the bulky, muscular man sucking on a toothpick to distract himself from the need to smoke.

"Any descriptions of who took them down?" Maggie asked curiously, studying the scene with the skilled eye of a long time investigator.

"No-face and the new Bat-chick," Harv answered dryly, the big man hiding a smile as he knew how she'd react to that description.

"Don't call her 'chick,' she'd probably kick your ass," Maggie noted. "So, Batwoman and the Question, again..."

"They've been as busy as Batman, lately," Harv noted with a twinge of admiration. "Brought in Calendar King and his gang the Monday Men."

Maggie shook her head ruefully, "What a town."

"You got that right," Harv chuckled, having helped the latest Killer Moth a few nights ago, along with the Tiger-Man.

Up on a rooftop nearby Batwoman took the modified parabolic antenna and moved away, turning to Question as she relayed some of the conversations. "Looks like they have things well in hand," she noted as they moved off.

"I wish we could stick around," Question made a face.

"Gordon may approve of us, but the Mayor doesn't," Batwoman noted, "until that changes we can't have a official relationship with the police."

The two women dropped into a nearby alley, climbing into the unmarked car with tinted windows. "Oh, I know," Question agreed as she released the gas that de-sealed her unique mask, "it's just frustrating."

"Agreed," Batwoman nodded as they drove off.

Later that evening the two women relaxed in Kate Kane's penthouse, the redhead smiling at Renee as they drank some coffee and went over the documents. They had changed out of 'work' gear and were just in night clothes and robes, both planning to call it a night. Presuming nothing else came up, of course.

"Looks like they were planning to hit Wayne tech," Renee noted, "but they don't seem to have any security details." She wore a old robe she had bought before moving in with Kate, along with t-shirt and boxers. She looked oddly masculine yet sort of cute, at least in Kate's eyes.

"Want to just let them crash and burn against the company's guards?" Kate asked curiously. She smirked, "Assuming any of the gang will even go through with it, now." The redhead was wearing some fairly racy panties and bra under her robe, and hid a smile at Renee's reactions. She loved teasing her somewhat stoic lover, though she wouldn't admit it.

"Someone will try it," Renee offered, "they aren't too bright, criminals."

"Well, most aren't," Kate corrected.

"Yeah," Renee acknowledged. She thought about it, "Let's warn Wayne security, then keep an eye on the place. Can't hurt."

"Fair enough," Kate agreed, smiling.

Before they could say anything more, the doorbell rang. Both women exchanged questioning looks, then Renee moved to get the door. "Let me," she murmured as she belted her robe, "I'm a bit better dressed for company."

"True," Kate belted her own robe, noting that even with it she still struck a sexy figure.

Renee looked through the peephole and blinked, before opening the door. "Ah, hi Maggie," Renee smiled at her old boss weakly, wishing she had more clothes on.

Maggie was clearly fighting a smirk as she stood in the doorway, looking over the suite and the two women. "I'm sorry," she said mildly, "am I interrupting?"

Kate sat down in a chair facing the door, reasoning it might be a bit more dignified. "We were just talking," she said, smiling.

"Ah, yeah," Renee agreed.

Maggie smiled wryly as the jacket wearing woman stepped inside, her hands in her coat pockets as she noted, "I'm sorry to intrude, but Renee listed this address on her investigator's license and I needed to see her."

"I'll be in the bedroom," Kate gracefully got up, hips swaying slightly as she left the living room to them both.

"Wow," Maggie murmured, probably unconsciously as she watched the bombshell leave.

Renee knew she probably should be annoyed, but to be honest she really couldn't blame the other woman. Hell, she had the same reaction herself, often enough! Leading her over to the couch Renee asked, "What can I do for you, captain?"

Maggie sat down, taking a second to study Renee. In the weeks after her police partner's death Renee had spiraled down in depression and into the bottle, then dropped out of sight. She returned to Gotham some months later, and since then had established herself as a private investigator. Looking at her now Maggie was struck by how much more calm and balanced the woman was, compared to what she had been like.

"If I asked you where you were tonight, what sort of answer would I get?" Maggie asked after a moment.

Renee gave her a look, "I was here with Kate, actually." A faint blush colored her cheeks as she added, "We were a little... busy."

Maggie fought back a chuckle. "Well, that's certainly understandable," she admitted. She hesitated, unsure of her suspicions, then decided to go for it. "If you see the Question," she said as she got back up and walked to the door, "you might suggest she uses a voice changer when calling in tips."

"If I see her, I'll do that," Renee offered as Maggie stepped out the door.

"Good," Maggie smiled and left.

Kate returned to the living room, having listened in to quite a bit of the conversation. "Do you think she knows...?" she asked curiously.

"Probably," Renee admitted after a moment. "Hell, she's a very good detective, Kate. It wouldn't surprise me if she knew who Superman is."

Kate took Renee's hand as she smiled wryly, "We'll just have to be careful not to break the law too obviously, then."

"That'll be fun," Renee laughed.

Kate took her hand, smirking slightly. "Do you know it's still illegal in Gotham to preform homosexual acts?" she asked. She winked, "Let's go violate the law a bit."

"Let's," Renee laughed as she followed her into the bedroom.

To be continued...

Notes: Wanted to get back with Kate & Renee again, so here we are. It's been heavily implied that Gordon knows that Bruce Wayne is Batman, so I felt it wouldn't be unlikely Maggie might know about Renee, especially since they worked together.


	20. Interview

In The Shadow of the Bat

Interview

Dani Grayton smiled as the Gotham city reporter headed into the busy cafe, long blonde hair flowing down her back. She looked around for the woman she planned to meet, then hurried towards the table in the back. "Miss Ludlow-Dalt?" she asked politely.

The black haired woman smiled slightly, "It's Teresa, please." As she waved Dani to a seat she added, "And if you want to piss me off, call me the Spider."

"Not happy about being a costumed hero?" Dani asked as she sat down, setting her bag on the table nearby so she could get at her recorders and other reporter's equipment.

"Considering I had to take on the identity because of people who hate my father...," Teresa shrugged eloquently.

Dani nodded, "Fair enough." She flagged down a waiter and ordered a coffee, noting how Teresa warily watched her surroundings. "Are the Seven Soldiers still after you?" she asked as she mixed up her coffee with cream and a bit of sugar.

"They still take the occasional shot at me," Teresa sighed. She looked at Dani intently, "I understand my brother visited Gotham?"

"Lucas, yes," Dani agreed, "wearing the original yellow shirt and blue shorts."

"Just like Dad," Teresa winced. "He didn't make a very big splash, at least looking through the paper archives."

"He ran into the second Batgirl," Dani informed her, "at least according to my sources. He had come here to prepare to fight the Shade..."

"Makes sense," Teresa conceded, "the family has always been nuts about the Shade. What did Batgirl do to him?"

"Beat him within a inch of his life apparently," Dani said with some satisfaction, "made him flee town with his tail between his legs."

"Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy," Teresa toasted her with the cup of coffee,

"I also heard some rumors about Thomas Dalt Jr," Dani added. "Apparently he was sighted in New York, helping fight off a monster invasion."

"Tommy did that?" Teresa raised her eyebrows.

"Unconfirmed reports," Dani cautioned. "Things were pretty crazy, considering there was a giant floating island over the city."

"Happens every other week in Metropolis," Teresa joked.

Dani chuckled softly as she nodded, "True true." She drank some of her coffee as she noted, "Say what you will about Gotham crazies, but at least we don't have critters trying to destroy the city."

"Or planet," Teresa added.

"That too." Dani smirked.

Teresa sat back, drinking some more coffee then waving for a refill. "So Lucas got his ass kicked here, then went to Opal City," she mused, trying to mentally figure out what he had done in what order.

"Where he fought Starman and the Shade," Dani agreed as she waved down a waiter and ordered some cinnamon buns. "He got his ass beat, then tried to set himself up as some kind of arch enemy to Shade."

"I heard Shade drove him out of town," Teresa noted, trying not to let her mixed feelings show in her voice. He was a crook and a scoundrel, yes, but he was still blood damn it.

Obviously Dani picked up on that a bit, giving her a sympathetic look. "Yeah, after he took a shot at one of the O'Dares."

"Then he hit Star City and took on Green Arrow," Teresa shook her head ruefully as she grabbed a bun, "what was he THINKING?"

Dani looked amused, "Trying to prove himself as a archer, I suppose. Not a very smart move, but understandable."

"I suppose," Teresa admitted, "I just find it embarrassing to have such stupid relatives."

Dani seized the opening to ask, "So, do you disapprove of your family more strongly after all you've learned about them?"

"Hell yes," Teresa snorted, "I mean, I think they were worse than I originally thought. Do you realize that the family has been obscenely wealthy more than once, but has never been able to hold on to it? They always have one more score planned, and end up in jail."

"Being a criminal never pays off," Dani offered mildly.

"Exactly!" Teresa agreed. "Every Ludlow has ended up betrayed by his allies, in jail or simply dead, often by mysterious causes."

"Like?" Dani had to ask.

"More than one is at the bottom of lakes or oceans, I suspect," Teresa noted with a grim smile, "and the Shade has killed a few that tried to kill him." She shuddered faintly in memory.

"What?" Dani had to ask.

"A Ludlow actually seduced Shade once, under the name Marguerite Croft. He fell for her but she poisoned him, declaring she would continue to try to kill him," Teresa told her, "Shade tore her apart in his grief and rage."

"Eww," Dani winced.

The two women changed the subject, the talk rambling through living in cites with superheroes to where to pick up the best take-out. They were nicely buzzed on caffeine as they left the cafe together, walking side by side.

"Thanks for inviting me out," Teresa smiled up at her, "it's nice to get away from the research for awhile."

"You don't mind my writing a story on you?" Dani asked curiously.

"Not really," Teresa shook her head as she pointed out, "after all, I'm doing the same sort of thing to my own family."

Dani was about to say something else when they heard a cry of alarm coming from up ahead and to the left. Her reporter instinct made her hurry up to look, and blinked in surprise. "Well damn," she muttered softly.

"Tell me it's not some of my usual crazies," Teresa sighed as she took a look.

"No, it's a guy in a tank robbing a bank," Dani blinked, getting on her phone and calling the Gotham emergency line.

"Well crap,' Teresa muttered as she ducked in a alley, emerging in her altered version of the Spider's uniform.

"What are you doing?" Dani yelped as the woman rushed by her and loaded a explosive crossbow bolt into her crossbow.

"Until the cops get here someone has to slow the thing down," Teresa answered briskly, looking like a real hero as she fired off her bow.

As Teresa hurried forward and the bulky vehicle swung around towards her, she was glad it wasn't actually a tank. Instead it seemed like some kind of armored personnel carrier, with a heavy cannon built in on top. Taking careful aim she fired her bolt at where the seam connected the gun to the roof, then ducked as it struck.

The boom was loud, as expected, and Teresa looked up warily to see the metal at the junction warped and broken. 'That should stop them using the canon,' she decided, scurrying to the side then hurrying to the hatch in the side of the vehicle.

Before Teresa could reach it the hatch slid open, smoke billowing out from inside. "I thought we just had to worry about Batman?" the man complained bitterly as he staggered out, coughing.

"Shit!" another man dressed in civilian style fake military camo blurted, raising his pistol to aim at Teresa.

Aiming and firing with the practice of long experience Teresa nailed him in the arm, blood splattering as he cried out and dropped the gun. Seeing the other men stirring she shoulder checked the first guy into the second, sending them both falling inside onto their own guys.

Switching shafts she fired a smoke bomb into the carrier, making things even more confused in the tank. "Surrender!" Teresa yelled, "You do not want to see what I'll do it you keep going!"

"Yeah, right," one man coughed as he waved away smoke.

Calmly Teresa put a arrow through his shoulder, the man hollering ion shock and pain, "I warned you."

"I'll...," a uninjured man started, only to trail off as a figure fluttered down beside Spider.

'Back up, I hope,' Teresa thought, looking sideways.

A mini crossbow was mounted on the purple arm, then she cocked it quite deliberately. "I'm the Huntress you bastards," the woman said coldly, "and unlike Batman I have no problems with just killing you scumbags."

All the crooks visibly wilted, clearly knowing Huntress' reputation. They climbed out of the vehicle even as the wailing of police sirens were heard, swiftly drawing nearer. "Thanks,' Teresa murmured to Huntress.

"No prob," Huntress answered, "you had it pretty much handled. Next time, shoot 'em somewhere painful, they'll give up faster."

"Thanks," Teresa answered as the cops finally arrived.

What followed was the arrest of all the goons, as the officers also interviewed Teresa to a annoying degree. They didn't seem to want to accept that she was only minding her own business before the attack, in fact one or two seemed to want to arrest her too.

But Dani jumped in, too, and that made a big difference. No one wanted to arrest the hero of the hour for stopping the crooks, and the witnesses all agreed that Teresa had been a hero. They insisted that Teresa promise to stay in town for the trial, but then bundled up the crooks and drove away, ordering the troop carrier towed after them.

"I can't decide if you were incredibly brave or crazy," Dani told her once Teresa ducked into the bathroom and emerged in street clothes.

"Both?" Teresa shrugged.

"I thought you didn't consider yourself a hero?" Dani asked her curiously, taking the other woman's hand.

"I'm not," Teresa insisted, "but I couldn't just stand by and let those crazies hurt people."

'That's pretty much my definition of a hero,' Dani mused as they walked along together. "Doing anything tonight?" she asked.

"Nothing pressing," Teresa admitted, "why?"

"Let me show you the good side of town," Dani smiled at her, mentally adding, 'as a reward for saving us all, hero.'

"Lead on," Teresa grinned, the two walking off closely together.

To be continued...


	21. Hub City

In The Shadow of the Bat!

Hub City

In the list of worst cities in the United States, in most people's opinion there are three top contenders: Gotham City, Bludhaven and Hub City. Gotham made the list due to corruption and super-crime, while Bludhaven was there for both epidemic police corruption, crime and a falling standard of living, but Hub City? Hub City was in a class all by itself.

It wasn't just that gangs owned large chunks of the city, soaring unemployment, police for sale and the disrepair of the town, the problems of Hub City went deeper than that. The city government had literally collapsed with the death of Mayor Fermin and her deputy mayor took over. The US had nearly declared the city a 'No Man's Land' like Gotham was, but corrupt figures in the federal government kept the city open for their own reasons.

Dana Fox looked out at Hub City from her penthouse apartment, feeling the bitterness of broken dreams. Her parents had come to Hub City nearly twenty five years ago, idealists who wanted to save this place. They wanted to use their wealth to spur business and hire locals, maybe pull this city up from the muck and slime, but they failed. Worse, they were murdered in a seemingly random killing, one that triggered a scandal that rocked the city.

'So why the hell am I back here?' Dana thought bitterly, her short black hair falling against her neck. The athletic woman paced across the living room, her brown eyes narrowed in annoyance as she considered what to do.

Dana's reasons for coming back to Hub City were purely cynical, she often told herself. Fox Munitions were developing new police stun rounds, but to do so they needed a entirely new factory. The stun rounds were based on a precise chemical injection, and a remodeled plant wouldn't do. Land in Hub City was dirt cheap, and if she could build here it would make a good distribution hub nation wide.

'Assuming I can get the gangs off my back,' Dana thought bitterly.

The 'doorman' at her building was a well armed guard, and his presence was VERY needed. The gangs ruled the streets of Hub City, demanding 'tribute' from the people in each area they lived in. They saw the construction of the factory as they chance for a major windfall, and there seemed to be no one who could stop them.

The masked hero the Question had once protected Hub City, but he had disappeared over a year ago. He might have died, he might have just left, but either way he wasn't there now. And no other superhero had been brave or stupid enough to try to help.

'It's ironic,' Dana thought as she looked at the prototypes sitting in their display case, 'the Fox Gun could help save this city, presuming I could get them into production.'

The Fox Gun was a new type of stun armament, one that had interest from police and private security world wide. The guns fired a new plastic bullet that penetrated the body and dissolved, releasing a harmless stun-chemical. For a limited period of time the target was frozen, the duration depending on how many shots fired, and it had no long term side effects.

'It could transform law enforcement not to mention make me millions,' Dana thought, 'but only if I can get them manufactured and tested fully!'

They HAD to get the gangs to back off! That was the only option! But private security wouldn't do it, and the police in Hub City were worse than useless...

Dana looked at the case of guns as a dangerous idea flittered through her head. 'Which leaves just...' she thought, reaching out to pick up the pistol, hefting it thoughtfully.

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

The east side of Hub City was a wreck, with broken cars littering the streets and deserted buildings leaning precariously over the roads. But even in the deserted squallor people lived, and where people lived came the scavengers that preyed on them.

The 'Jesters' were originally named 'Jokers' until word got back to Gotham about them. A mysterious surprise package took out their leader along with a note reading, "Don't mess with the name, kiddies." After that they changed to Jesters, and tried very hard not to draw his attention ever again.

"That rich lady ain't building here until she pays," Jackson snarled, his black hair falling in a messy tangle across his face. The tall, nervous man fiddled with a switchblade, flicking the blade out then back, his muscled arms bulging under the ragged t-shirt.

"We don't wanna scare her off," Matt cautioned as the smaller man hunched closer to the fire burning in the barrel, "just wanna make her pay up."

"Her construction crews won't come back," Jamie said as he hefted the stolen pistol. He had gotten it mugging a rookie cop, then the gang had scalped him for good measure. Had to make sure the cops knew not to fuck with Jesters!

"She can hire more, the bitch," Jackson sighed.

"Don't be dissing the money," Vanessa told him, but she was smirking. She leaned forward, the redhead dressed in short shorts and a t-shirt that stuck tight to her curves, "We could be milking this honey for years. Years!"

"But she still hasn't paid," Simon frowned, the blond haired young man hanging around the gang nervously. He was new meat to the gang, barely a member, and he didn't want to piss anyone off that could kill him.

"She'll pay," Jackson said with a sneer as they heard the pop pop of guns firing off in the distance. "What the hell's that?" he asked, frowning as he tried to guess how far off it was.

"Guns?" Matt blinked, though there was something off about the sound. He wasn't sure what, but it didn't sound right.

"Think someone's hitting the Revengers?" Vanessa asked, referring to the gang who was nearest to their own territory.

"Get your weapons," Jackson ordered, not liking the feel of it.

Not far away a pitched battle was taking place, as weapons fired off into the twilight. The Revengers were already half down as the four survivors crouched behind a broken wall, taking in the madwoman who was shooting at them.

The crazy lady in black had walked into their territory then ORDERED them to vacate, or at least not interfere in the activities of the construction teams. Their leader Kurt told her off, then the stone cold bitch shot him!

"What the hell is going on?" Harry gasped as they looked out at their buddies, all bprawled out on the street. "Hey, I think they're breathing," he added, blinking.

Before he could pursue that thought the woman in black charged, her twin pistols firing rapidly. They tried to break and run but she fired with unearthly precision, putting bullets in each of them. They collapsed backwards, stiffening, then lay there unable to move.

"You're just paralyzed temporarily," the black clad woman knelt down beside Harry, her face covered by a half mask as she said, "next time, you might not be so lucky. Let the work crews through, or answer to me."

"Who are you...?" one of the others managed to ask.

The mysterious woman paused, then seemed to salute them with a pistol. "Paladin," she answered calmly, "have guns, will travel."

Simon scurried from where he was hiding nearby, running back to the Jesters as fast as he could. He was panting and out of breath as he reached the first sentry, but he man aged to gasp, "Crazy lady... usin' pistols. Calls herself Paladin."

"Paladin?" the man on guard detail snorted. "Okay, head back to Jackson and I'll cap the bitch."

"Be careful, she took down all the Revengers," Simon said as he ran off.

"They were light weights," he scoffed, readying his trusty length of pipe. He was the best pipe fighter in town, and he'd ambush her so she couldn't try to shoot him...

He was still boasting to himself as the gun coughed from concealment and he keeled over, the black clad woman in light armor walking by casually. She reloaded with odd looking, blue colored bullets, then stalked onward as the day shifted into twilight.

Jackson scowled as he ordered his team to their positions, his eyes narrowed in annoyance. He had almost expected the Fox woman to try something, but this? What was this Paladin, some kinda mercenary or something?

"What the hell?" Vanessa griped as she braced a old rifle against a wall and sighted down the street. This was supposed to be easy money, just scaring away some workers. Where the hell had gunfighters come from?

"Here she comes!" Matt yelped as the figure in black appeared at the far end of the street, walking forward slowly.

"So shoot the bitch!" Jackson glared at Vanessa and Jamie.

Guns blazed and they saw the bullets hit, the woman staggering backwards then falling to the dusty pavement. "Yes!" Jamie yelled, fist pumping in the air.

"Come on," Jackson said as the gang hurried forward to where she lay, "let's make sure she's down. And we'll share those prime guns too."

The woman lay sprawled out on the ground, still and quiet as they neared. There was no blood but that wasn't too unusual, bullets could lodge inside a body and keep the blood from pumping out. Jamie and Vanessa relaxed a bit as they saw she wasn't moving... right up until her eyes popped open.

"Body armor," Paladin said as she fired, splatting a bullet into Jamie's arm and between Vanessa's breasts.

Jackson dove for Jamie's gun as he yelped, "Shit!"

Paladin was up and firing as the others scrambled for their weapons, too little, too late. She fired on them smoothly, punching a single bullet into each of them, their bodies stiffening as something cold slid through their veins.

The woman reloaded as she walked up to Jackson, then knelt down to look him into the eye. "One bullet freezes you," she told him calmly, "you don't want to know what two or three would do."

Jackson gulped, wanting to wiggle away but unable too. What the hell was in those bullets, spider venom? Snakes? What?

"Work crews are coming through here tomorrow to start work on the Fox Munition factory," Paladin told him coldly, "I do not want your people interfering again." She rose, hefting a gun pointedly, "If you do, there will be consequences."

"There are... other gangs," Jackson managed to hiss bitterly.

"I know," Paladin said as she walked off, "they're next on my list."

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

Dana Fox ached from the bruises where bullets had hit her arms and legs, but it was a good ache. Relaxing in her penthouse she looked at the guns and the now depleted experimental ammo, feeling a surge of satisfaction. After taking out the Revengers and Jesters she had called in the cops, watching in satisfaction as her private security herded the regular police in to make arrests. She doubted they'd stay in jail, but it was a start.

The newspapers were delivered on time and Dana flipped them up to read the front page... and nearly dropped it in surprise. "Hub City has a New Hero!" one paper declared. The other read, "Paladin is here! Criminals beware!"

"Oh hell," Dana muttered as she sat down, reading grimly. 'It's just a one time thing, damn it!" she growled as she read the reports, including more wary comments from the police and mayor's office. 'No wonder,' she thought, 'the gangs must be pissed over how poorly their protection money worked.'

With a sigh Dana sat back, feeling a headache coming on. 'Hub City needs a hero,' she thought to herself tiredly, 'what you've got is me. And who knows, maybe we deserve each other?'

To be continued...

Notes: Based off a story in the JLA comics, in which a alternate Bruce Wayne took up the gun instead of being Batman. I figured 'Paladin' would work better as a non-lethal hero, so this character was born.


	22. Freaks and Geeks

In the Shadow of the Bat

Freaks and Geeks

The world isn't kind to you if you're different. It was a lesson that Mary Scott knew well, and that had been driven into her at a early age. Born to a seemingly normal family Mary was different from birth, a premature, small, and sickly baby. Her paleness was originally thought to be temporary, but soon she was also diagnosed with albinism.

It's hard enough being a child, but one with pale skin and pink eyes? It was hell, in their perfect suburban neighborhood. Mary did her best to be unnoticed, to keep her head down, but when the kids needed someone to pick on, they found her. Some teachers tried to help, some kids too, but none of it was enough to protect her.

Leaving school was a relief, but finding a job and surviving was a whole new problem. Positions were mysteriously full when she applied, and people were visibly uncomfortable around her. Thank god for telemarketing jobs, they hired anyone with a clear voice and willingness to recite a script.

Mary got by, saving her money and using the food bank occasionally, but she wondered 'Is this it? Is this all I can be?'

Like many reclusive people, Mary had discovered like minded people on the internet. Using a box salvaged from the garbage and a cheap dial-up plan she searched the net, discovering communities for people who looked different. She exchanged mail, chatted and eventually found out about a place where someone different had a chance to get ahead: Gotham.

Mary had been pretty dubious, at first. Gotham had a reputation, even in the small town Mary lived in, but talking with friends encouraged her. YES, there were crazy people running around in costumes killing people, but your chances of getting killed were about the same as being hit by a car. A small price to pay, for living in a town where you weren't sneered at.

Mustering her courage Mary quit her job, gathered up her meager savings and headed to the big city. The bus ride cross country had been pretty damn unpleasant, Mary staking out a window seat and sleeping in snatched moments as they rumbled along. The number of people on the bus waned as they went, and by the time they hit the central bus depot in Gotham, she was the last one left.

"Good luck, miss," the driver nodded as she got off.

"Thank you," Mary smiled, sunglasses shielding her light sensitive eyes.

Finding a place to live was surprisingly easy, especially since Mary wasn't terribly picky. A job only took a day or so, to her shock. The stories she had heard were true, it seemed, people here really didn't seem to care much what you looked like.

The dingy adult theater was in 'old' Gotham, partially rebuilt from the quake but more run-down than other parts of town. The streets weren't safe, really, though Mary had been amused to discover that being a creepy looking albino was it's own protection.

"This is a stick up!" the mugger yelled on one of her first night shifts, emerging from the alley holding a gun in his shaking hand.

"Sorry, I'm broke," Mary had answered, her pale skin shining and not wearing her shades. Unlike back in the boonies she wasn't wearing extra clothes to hide her albinism, for once in her life just dressed in jeans and a t-shirt.

"Oh crap," the mugger muttered, "you're some kinda costumed freak, aren't you?" He dropped the gun, backing away, "Sorry to bother you!"

As he bolted Mary waved, "Bye."

It was... weird, but kind of fun, being mistaken for a super villain. Mary walked home as usual, going up to her room in the dive motel and relaxing with a sigh on the bed. She resolved to do some dumpster diving in the expensive part of town, she needed a computer to replace the one she abandoned, and she wanted to hook up with any online friends in the city.

The city by day was very different than the city at night, Mary noted, squinting behind her sunglasses. She wore a long, battered coat and a medical mask to help shield her sensitive skin from the sun, stalking along busy streets with a hat pulled down over her face. People noticed the pale skin, some edging away and others looking curious.

"Miss, you okay?" a beat cop asked, the young man looking at her with concern.

Mary sighed, wishing people wouldn't bother her. 'Then again,' she admitted, 'I guess I do look kind of suspicious.' Aloud she said to the nice man, "I'm fine, officer. I have a condition that causes me to be very light sensitive."

"I see," the man who's name tag said 'Chambers' blinked, looking at the medical card the woman handed to him. "Sorry for the trouble," he handed it back, "have a nice day."

"Thank you," Mary nodded, moving on.

Dumpster diving behind several companies gave Mary a partially complete computer, a few hard drives and materials she figured she could use to fix it. She also found a older monitor that seemed intact, and using a shopping cart she loaded up her stuff and headed out. She would have preferred a new machine, of course, but there was just no way she could afford it.

Assembling her 'new' machine would have to wait, night shift at the porn theater called once again. Mary walked to work once more, nodding hello to the afternoon girl as she changed into the simple uniform of blouse, skirt and old fashioned cap. Then she took up her position in the booth, smiling at the people and selling tickets to 'Mindy does Metropolis.'

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

Because Bruce Wayne was a philanthropist as well as a businessman, his CEO Lucius Fox often found himself dealing with matters rather separate from usual business concerns. He watched out for charities and other things Bruce could donate to, as well as monitoring changes in the city in general. Today he was passing on a report to Bruce, and he wasn't sure how the man would take it.

"So," Bruce frowned as he studied the document, "Gotham is seeing a decline in the 'middle class' revenue bracket?"

Lucius nodded, "You can phrase it differently, of course. One of my marketing researchers called it the 'average guy' bracket, but that's a touch too broad."

"I suppose," Bruce smiled faintly. He looked out at the city through a window at Wayne Tower, "Do we know why?"

"The contagion, quake and No Man's Land hurt Gotham," Lucius admitted as the African-American looked out at the city too, "but honestly there's only a certain kind of person who can handle Gotham."

"And most people aren't," Bruce said, frowning slightly.

"Yes," Lucius acknowledged calmly. "Which brings up the other part of the report."

"As the average joes leave the jobs are being taken by more unusual people," Bruce noted, skimming the report. "Failed metas, people with physical deformities, medical conditions..."

"We don't keep that close a track on them, but from research they're a growing chunk of our population," Lucius said seriously, "I was wondering if you had a direction in mind we should take?"

"I'm a bit torn, honestly," Bruce admitted, frowning slightly. "One of my goals has always been to try to... restore Gotham to what it was in my parents time."

"Your father was a doctor and your mother a philanthropist too," Lucius noted mildly, "I suspect they'd try to help these people."

"Heh, true," Bruce admitted, smiling slightly. "We should probably push more money into Doctor Hopkins' clinic," he mused.

"And do what we can to make sure they know help is available," Lucius added thoughtfully.

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

Another night and Mary was working the booth, once again enjoying the freedom to not have to hide her skin and eyes. She felt happy at assembling her computer and getting online again, too, having reconnected to several communities she belonged to. She was looking forward to trying to arrange a face to face meet up of some of her friends in the city, too.

"Uhm, two tickets please?" the blushing man asked, his girlfriend looking amused.

"Sure," Mary said, ringing up the bill then swiping their debit card.

It was boring work, but by god was it better than sitting in a cube calling people and trying to sell them crap. The money was better too, with the whole night shift thing and all. Mary accepted that it was more dangerous, but honestly what wasn't? Crossing the street could get you killed in the wrong part of town.

Looking up Mary saw another customer coming up, and she put on her cheery smile. "How may I help...," she started then froze.

The gun being waved looked big enough to swallow her face, or at least it did being waved in front of her face. The man was wearing clean and starched clothes along with purple gloves. His fave was paler than her's other than the bright red lips, and his hair was the oddest shade of green.

"This is a stick-up," Joker started, then peered at her thoughtfully. "Well, aren't you interesting," he noted.

Mary realized she was going to die, but a odd calm had stolen over her. "You're a bit early in the night, Mr. Joker," she told him, "I've barely got a hundred in my till."

"Well, darn," Joker said casually, using the barrel of the gun to scratch the side of his head. "How did a nice girl like you end up in a town like this?" he asked mockingly, a frightening smile twisting his features.

"Safer than most towns for someone like me," Mary said to him honestly.

"You're about to be robbed or shot by a crazed clown," Joker pointed out.

"As I said," Mary shrugged eloquently, "safer than most towns."

Joker looked at her a moment, then burst into the mad, cackling laughter he was so well known for. "I like you, kid," he noted as he put the gun away, "you'll go far in this city." With that he sauntered off, whistling to himself cheerfully.

Mary pried her fear-stiffened fingers away from the counter and fought not to hyperventilate, leaning against the back of her square booth. With a shaking hand she called the police, then waited while waiting to hear any more mayhem from up the street.

Apparently, mentioning 'Joker' got a fast response from the Gotham Police. Within minutes a squad car was there, coming in silent, and after she pointed where he went they raced after him. Even stranger she thought she saw a... shadow pass by overhead, but that was probably just her imagination.

A few minutes later other police vehicles roared by, and not long after that a armored car-like transport left the area. The first two cops walked up the street to where they had parked by the theater, both looking tired.

"I wish the Bat hadn't swooped in to collar him," the older man muttered, frowning.

"I'm just glad we got him, Harv," the woman answered. She excused herself and walked over to Mary, smiling gently. Holding Mary's hands she gazed into her eyes as she asked, "How are you feeling, Miss? Not too shaken up?"

Mary gazed into her eyes as the cop squeezed her hand gently, smiling. She was surprised to feel herself blush slightly, reading the woman's name tag as she answered, "Just a bit, Officer Hendricks."

"A close encounter with the Joker will do that to you," the woman said. Hendricks took out a business card and wrote on it with a pen, "The first number is victim's services." A faint blush colored her face, "The other is my home number."

"Thank you," Mary said, feeling a bit stunned.

"Call me if you need anything," Hendricks said as she added a bit shyly, "or if you... just need to talk."

Hendricks looked cutely embarrassed, in a charming sort of way. "I will," Mary promised as the other woman walked away.

To be continued...

Notes: This is an idea that occurred to me reading the Batman comics. With all the craziness and mayhem in Gotham, many 'normal' people might decide they can't cope and move away. While at the same time more... unusual people might be drawn to Gotham because of the 'urban legend' of the Batman.


	23. Knightquest

In The Shadow of the Bat

Knightquest

The city of Gotham had it's neighborhoods and territories, just like any other city, but here they were enforced much more stringently. If you were a stranger wandering in the wrong place you could get yourself killed, often with no warning whatever. The gangs once ran whole parts of town, though that thankfully was in decline as the police and vigilantes fought to bring order to the city.

Police Captain Maggie Sawyer sighed as she looked over the city map pinned to the wall of her office in Major Crimes, studying the city. There were pins in the map indicating unsolved murders and other incidents her people were investigating. Red pins denoted murder, blue pins robbery, and yellow pins indicating mask's crimes. She got up, studying the pins, then blinked as she noticed none were in one small section of town.

Out near Crime Alley, over in Old Gotham there was a block or so... with no pins. No unsolved murders, no robberies, no costumed maniacs attacking people. Somehow, that small piece of town was free from the usual chaos that hit the city. Maggie frowned, wondering how such a thing was possible, then decided to find out.

Over the next few days Maggie checked in with the Organized Crime department in the force, with the Fraud team and other departments in the Police, and got similar stories from all of them. Somehow, someone or something was dealing with crime in that little part of Old Gotham, taking down crooks and practically leaving them gift wrapped for cops.

"And apparently no one has any idea who's doing it," Maggie finished her report to her superior, sitting casually in the chair in front of his desk.

"And that really surprises you?" Comissioner James Gordon asked, the gray haired man smiling at her wryly.

"Yes, considering we don't know what's doing this," Maggie answered honestly.

"True," James admitted as he fingered his pipe,obviously wishing he could lite it up in the now smokeless building. "I think the problem is too many officers are too busy dealing with their caseloads," he mused, "they don't have time to look into this crimeless zone."

"I only noticed it myself because we're trying to track more criminals' movements," Maggie admitted as she tapped the desk with her finger. She gave him a thoughtful look, "Would you mind if I do some looking into it?"

"Knock yourself out," James nodded, "as long as your usual work gets done."

"Of course," Maggie agreed.

The next few days she looked into the information available on that part of town, organizing it like she would a subject's background. Old Gotham was under the protection of Catwoman, apparently, though the former villain rarely ventured into the part of town Maggie was studying. It was run down, even before the quake hit Gotham, and not too much rebuilding money had been thrown at the area. The locals had only recently managed to get their church repaired, for instance.

Deciding that a personal touch was needed Maggie let her Lieutenant know where she was going, then Maggie checked out a car and drove out into the Gotham night. The streets were busy with people as Maggie drove, taking in the sights and sounds of Gotham at night. Nightclubs blazed in the night, people walked the streets and there was a party atmosphere, despite the danger that usually lingered in the air.

'Crazy town,' Maggie thought, knowing the crime rates and murder statistics. Then again she figured that even with that danger people had to live, and some of that living included having a good time. She passed a adult movie theater and nodded to the albino girl working the booth, then slowed as she realized she was nearing the part of town she wanted.

Maggie pulled over and parked the unmarked cruiser, getting out as the older woman locked the doors. The buildings were in poor shape, battered like other low rent parts of town, but Maggie quickly noticed differences. The sidewalks were clean, free of litter, and as battered as the buildings were they didn't look neglected. Windows were intact, doors stood straight, and the walls had been washed in the last few days.

'Interesting,' Maggie thought as she set out for a walk, dressed in a off the rack suit and tie.

AS she walked Maggie saw curtains in some of the buildings twitch, indicating people were watching her. Casually she walked along the sidewalk of the crime-free area she had plotted on the map, even as she felt the people's eyes on her. She finished the route then decided to walk towards the center of the block, and the recently repaired church there.

The cathedral had once been Gothic, but much of it had been ripped down in the quake a few years back. Now a smaller, much more humble church was in the square, with a simple almost country design of four walls, tilted roof and a simple bell tower. The doors were also open, and a light shone from inside.

Maggie walked up to the door, hesitated a moment, then walked inside. The interior reminded her of churches she had seen before, with seats in two wings and a center aisle heading towards a simple altar and podium. A young man in the garb of a priest was sweeping, but he stopped as he saw her come in.

"Oh, hello," he smiled, the blond haired man's glasses gleaming as he swept the pile of dust aside. "Sorry, I was just cleaning up," he apologized.

"It's fine," she smiled, "I'm Maggie Sawyer, Gotham City PD."

"Jean-Paul Valley," he offered his hand as he said, "I've been the pastor around these parts for the last year or so."

"Mister Valley," Maggie shook the man's hand, "Or would you prefer Father Valley?"

"I answer to Pastor, Father, Jean or even Hey You," Jean-Paul answered with a slight smile, and Maggie chuckled softly. "What can I do for you?" he asked, gesturing for her to sit down on one of the many benches.

"I'm investigating a odd occurrence," Maggie admitted. Not going into the odd absence of crime in the area she merely mentioned a single case where a minor criminal named the Clue was busted nearby. "What we'd really like are witnesses of what happened to him," she concluded.

"I can ask around," Jean-Paul offered, "but I can't promise anything. This community protects it's own." Ruefully he added, "It took months before anyone would open up to me."

"I've had similar problems when I joined the police," Maggie agreed, hoping to disarm the young man slightly. As they talked she continued to get the impression he was hiding something, but what, exactly, she couldn't tell.

"I'm sorry," Jean-Paul finally said, "but the late-evening Mass will be starting soon. I need to make some preperations."

"Of course," Maggie got up politely, "thank you for your time."

As Maggie walked back to her car the oddness around the serene young priest continued to nag at her. She got into her car and used the computer inside to log into the police network, running the name 'Jean-Paul Valley' through the system. Not long after she got a hit, and while waiting in her car she read through the file. It was interesting to say the least...

Jean-Paul first came to the attention of the Gotham PD when his father was killed under mysterious circumstances and he turned up fighting in alleys sometime later. The boy did a fair amount of globe trotting afterward, and was in town during the quake as well as after, during No Man's Land. He also popped up around the hero Azrael, though no one had drawn any connections between them. The file was frustratingly incomplete, but it hinted there was a lot going on under the skin.

Moving her car to a dark alley Maggie treated it like a stake out, waiting patiently to see what might happen. She watched from the shadows as people walked the streets, talked and carried on their nightly routine.

It was three AM and Maggie was dozing a bit when the first cry of alarm woke her. Getting out of the car she quietly made her way up the street, peered around a corner and froze in surprise. The gang of young men looked like they had been planning a robbery, or some such, but they clearly hadn;'t expected what they found.

The young priest Jean-Paul was standing over one unconscious man, and was trading blows with another as the rest of the gang watched in awe. He was like a dancer, gracefully dodging blows as he punched back with incredible force, dropping another boy. With stunning speed he was in the middle of the remaining three boys, striking out fast and furious.

One of the men drew a gun, and Maggie moved as she drew her service revolver. "Drop it!" she barked even as Jean-Paul knocked out another man.

The boy looked at Maggie long enough to give Jean-Paul a shot at him, and a spin kick knocked the last gangster out. Jean-Paul shook his head wryly as he said, "I suppose I should have seen you there, officer. Thanks for the help."

"You're welcome," Maggie put her gun away. "So, I guess you're the reson it's so quiet out here?" She smiled wryly, "What was that, kung fu?"

"Long story," Jean-Paul sighed as they tied up the gangsters. "Want to grab a coffee?"

"Why not?" Maggie agreed as they called the cops to pick up the gangsters then headed back to the church.

Jean-Paul got out some cups from the back room and made coffee, the young man stalling for time as he prepared the drinks. Handing her a cup he asked, "Have you ever heard of Azrael?"

"Superhero who ran with the Bat-clan for awhile," Maggie answered promptly, "the rumor is he was dead."

"Well, that was me," Jean-Paul admitted then smiled, "the rumors of my death were greatly exagerated."

"What happened to you?" Maggie asked as she sipped the remarkably good coffee.

After a moment Jean-Paul said, "What you have to understand is that I never planned to be a superhero." Taking a breath he explained, "From my childhood on I was secretly trained to be Azrael by a mysterious Order, all done via hypnosis. I had no idea I had special takents until somone turned them on a few years ago."

"That had to have been creepy," Maggie noted.

"You have no idea," Jean-Paul agreed. "I ended up joining Batman to try to get control over my abilities, and I became a superhero to try to use my skills to help people."

"So how did you end up here?" Maggie asked curiously.

Jean-Paul drank some coffee as he said, "To be honest, more and more I felt I wasn't helping ordinary people, just fighting other costumed crazies. The more time passed, the more I was wondering what I was doing with myself. So when the chance came I decided to hang up the costume and help people a different way."

"So you became a priest who kicks ass?" Maggie teased, watching the younger man blush.

"Well, the ass kicking wasn't really planned...," Jean-Paul admitted and Maggie laughed. "What are you going to do?" he asked after a moment.

Maggie finished off her coffee then put the cup down. "You haven't killed or permanently hurt anyone doing this?" she asked.

"Broken a few arms and noses," Jean-Paul admitted, "but other than that, no."

"Fair enough," Maggie got up, brushing off dust from her pants, "don't cross any lines where I have to come after you, and I'll leave you alone." She smiled slightly, "Heck, it's nice to have at least one neighborhood I don't have to worry about."

To be continued...

Notes: Jean-Paul's status in DC Comics is pretty much unknown right now. In the final issue of his comic his empty costume was found, and that's the last we've seen of him. A Undead Azrael appeared in Blackest Night, but but it's not known who was in the costume...


	24. East Side

In The Shadow of the Bat

East Side

The East End of Gotham was a bit of a different neighborhood, where there was a rougher element to much of the rest of Gotham. It was a mix of light and dark, where Leslie Thompkins ran her clinic, and the Catwoman roamed the night. It was also where some of the new arrivals drifted, drawn by cheap housing and the chance of gray-sector jobs.

Holly Robinson smiled warmly as the young blond worked in the East End Community Center, dishing up food for the homeless and disadvantaged. She had a warm, cheerful manner, one that was a great change from her dark past.

A prostitute and friend of Selina Kyle, Holly had a very rough teenage period. Selina ultimately convinced her to enter a convent with Maggie Kyle, but in the end that didn't work out. Ending up back on the street Holly had drug problems, but ultimately got herself clean before meeting Selina once again. Now she and Selina helped watch over this part of town, with Holly working as one of her informants.

Holly looked up as a pale young woman in slightly older clothes joined her behind the table, her brown hair offsetting the pale skin and slightly pinkish eyes. "Hey, Mary," Holly smiled, "nice to see you again."

"Hi," Mary Scott smiled shyly, the albino pulling on a apron and gloves to help feed the homeless, "how are things going today?"

"Busy as usual," Holly chuckled as they both went to work.

The lunch they were offering wasn't much, just soup, sandwich and coffee, but it was more than some of these guys and gals got from whatever money they could raise. The people collected their trays and Mary and Holly served up the food, in return getting sincere thanks and shy smiles.

Mary was a odd duck, Holly quickly decided, though she couldn't really blame the other woman for it. If what she had gotten out of Mary was true the woman's school life was absolute hell, and her personal life hadn't been anything to write home about either.

After nearly a hour of dishing up food the lineup was about done, and both women were sighing in relief. "Have I thanked you today for volunteering?" Holly asked tiredly.

"For the fourth of fifth time," Mary noted with some amusement.

"Well, let me thank you again," Holly laughed as she added, "I don't think I could handle this mob on my own."

Mary just smiled back, her odd pink eyes gentle as she answered, "I'm glad to help those less fortunate than I."

Holly had to fight back a snort of amusement at that comment. Mary was right on the poverty line for Gotham, living in a East End dive and working as a ticket girl at a porno theater, but she still regarded herself as well off.

'I guess that says something about what her life was like before she came here to Gotham,' Holly silently mused. "Has anything interesting happened at work?" Holly had to ask, strangely fascinated by the types that went to a run down porno theater, presumably to wack off.

A odd smile flickered across Mary's face as she softly admitted, "I met the Joker."

"What?" Holly yelped, then quickly got the story from her. Apparently the Joker tried to rob her theater, and was rather impressed by her calm reaction, sparing her his usual homicidal impulses. "You were incredibly lucky," she noted, shaking her head.

"You think so?" Mary asked, tilting her head to the side curiously.

Holly nearly said something forceful, then noticed the twinkle in Mary's eyes. "You're pulling my chain, aren't you?" she asked.

Mary grinned suddenly, "Just a bit."

"Why, I oughta...," Holly mock threatened her while Mary giggled.

"Are you two playing the Three Stooges or something?" the slim black haired woman noted as she walked in, looking the two over thoughtfully.

"Actually we were waiting for you to make us three, Selina," Holly teased, "once we practice we'll go on the road!"

"Oh, gee, thanks," Selina laughed. She looked at Mary curiously, "Who's your friend?"

"Mary, meet my roommate Selina," Holly introduced her with a smile, "she's a former socialite who lost everything in the stock market crash."

"Nice to meet you," Mary shook her hand.

Holly was amused to see Selina being nervous around the girl, presumably due to her resemblance to the Joker. But Mary's gentle aura seemed to calm her friend,. And soon they were chatting reasonably normally. Well, sort of.

"You're living WHERE?" Selina yelped, nearly spitting out her mouthful of coffee. As Holly tried to keep her from choking Selina recovered enough to say, "We've got to get you out of there."

"It's not that bad," Mary said from her seat at the corner table they were all at, drinking some coffee before going home.

"The rats in that part of the East End go around armed," Holly noted dryly, "yes, it's that bad, Mary. You aren't safe there."

"Everyone thinks I'm a minor supervillain or something," Mary shrugged expressively, "no one bothers me there."

"And the cockroaches don't bother you either?" Selina had to ask as she looked at the delicate young woman dubiously.

"I put down flea powder," Mary shrugged, "they stay out of my room."

"Gah," Holly made a face at that idea. "Really, I'm sure we can find you something better," she said firmly.

Both women tried to argue with Mary but got pretty much nowhere, then it was time for her to go. "What a odd woman," Selina noted mildly, smiling.

"I like her, though," Holly nodded, "she's a good kid."

"I suppose," Selina sighed. She made a face, "Damn it, I hate admitting that someone's appearance bothers me..."

"She reminds you of Joker," Holly nodded slightly. She shrugged, "It's understandable, Selina. I mean you've fought that giggling psycho enough times it makes sense it bothers you."

"Yeah, but I should be able to separate out a pale kid from the Joker," Selena grumbled.

Both of them shut up as the outside door opened, and a young man and older woman walked in. Holly swiftly assessed them with her eyes and instincts, quickly coming to certain conclusions. Both had the look of criminals, from the wary gazes around them to the readiness to fight, but they weren't killers. There was a hardness around the eyes and a coldness that killing brought on that they didn't have. Overall Holly tagged them as mid-level types, the sort often recruited for gangs but not trusted in the inner circle.

"Uhm, hello?" the older woman called, looking around her. Oddly both were wearing battered tuxedos, of average quality.

"Hi, welcome to the East End Community center," Holly got up from the table to walk over to them, "I'm Holly."

"Jamie," the brown haired woman nodded politely, "and this is Max."

The younger man actually tipped his hat slightly, revealing short black hair as he said politely, "Charmed."

Holly had to bite back a laugh at that, even as the boy blushed slightly. Selina sauntered over, her green eyes amused as she asked, "Are you two the ones Catwoman mentioned?"

"Yeah, we had a little run in with her," Jamie admitted a bit ruefully, "and in a weak moment I agreed to come out here."

"She had us tied up with a whip," Max shrugged eloquently, "arguing seemed like a bad idea at that point."

Holly giggled then added, "Kinky."

"Hey!" Selina protested, then when the newcomers looked at her quickly added, "Uhm, I'm sure Catwoman doesn't swing that way."

"Well, she does wear that leather outfit," Jamie noted with a sly smile.

Selina glowered at Holly, who wisely decided not to push any more. "So you two are looking for work?" she asked curiously.

"If you can find us something, I'd appreciate it," Max agreed, nodding. He made a face, "Almost anything has to be better than some of the stuff I've put up with."

"Oh?" Selina had to ask.

"I nearly got killed by the Joker," Max checked it off on his fingers, "had a run in with Two Face, the Scarecrow made me phobic to clowns, the Wonderland Crew drugged me and put me in a skirt..."

"Wha?" Jamie blinked.

"I was Alice. Don't ask," he sighed then finished, "I ran with the new Ventriloquist and nearly got blown up, then ended up fighting members of the Falcone mob during the last gang war."

"You know, you're life sucks," Holly noted.

"Eh, it's a living," Max shrugged eloquently.

"Damn, kid, I told you to stay clear of the mobs," Jamie sighed, "you better hope you didn't cross anyone major. They do not forget or forgive."

"Nah, I got winged fast and ended up on the sidelines," Max shook his head. "Anyway," he looked at Holly, "Do you guys have anything for us?"

Holly exchanged a glance with Selina, who looked rather amused by the two newcomers. "Yeah, I think we can find something," Holly said, "as long as you don't mind some physical labor."

"Yeah, we'll manage," Jamie said.

"Good, come on then," Holly said as she lead them away.

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

Mary Scott sighed tiredly as she went up the creaking steps to her little apartment, then blinked as she heard the sounds of loud conversation. "Be careful with the computer," one voice ordered.

"But it's just a home made model," a guy answered.

"Still, it's hers," a third, familiar voice said firmly.

Mary hurried up to her floor, then blinked as she saw Holly supervising two others as they cleared her stuff out of her room. "What are you doing?" she asked dryly.

"We found you a new place," Holly said firmly, "and my minions here are helping you move."

"Minions?" the man sighed.

The woman shrugged, "Better than hench people."

To be continued...

Notes: Referring back to several older chapters, as well as touching on Catwoman. I'm mostly ignoring the 'One Year Later' stuff in her title, as I feel it was rather badly thought out.


	25. Oracle

In the Shadow of the Bat

Oracle

The computer center was hidden from view, much like the old watchtower that she had used as a headquarters. Officially Oracle and the Birds of Prey were primarily based in Metropolis, but Barbara Gordon considered herself a Gothamite born and bead. She could no more completely abandon her home town than she could cut off her arm.

Barbara reviewed files and data, even as she rerouted information to allies and friends. Booster Gold was fighting against a cloned Blockbuster, and she sent him data on the thing's weak heart. Hitman and members of the Shadowpact were fighting a army of demons, data she routed to the JLA and JSA. Images crawled across screens as she worked, sending information where it needed to go.

"You want some coffee?" Dinah Lance asked, the attractive blond carrying in two mugs, steam rising gently from them.

"Thanks," Babs smiled at her warmly, pulling her wheelchair away from the terminals and glowing screens before rolling over to where Dinah was standing. She breathed deep in the steam then sipped, sighing gratefully.

Dinah grinned at her as she noted, "You make drinking coffee seem like a sexual experience."

Babs blushed, thankfully not drinking at that moment or she'd probably choke on it. "Good coffee should be appreciated," she said with as much dignity as she could muster.

"So what do you think about the Penguin being killed?" Dinah asked, deciding to stop teasing the boss for now. 'Damn she's cute when flustered,' she noted, smiling.

Barbara frowned in annoyance as she said, "I'm running into some surprising brick walls in investigating it, actually."

Dinah raised her eyebrows slightly. "They've actually managed to out do you with computers?" she asked skeptically.

"No," Babs growled her answer, "they've deliberately stayed off the internet."

"Huh?" Dinah blinked.

"I know who bought the Iceberg Lounge, but it's a shell company. Set up in person, by someone not on any facial recognition system," Barbara said flatly. "The money simply appeared when another individual cashed in a antique sword. I can track the blade's history, to a point, but it simply appears at one point."

Dinah tilted her head to the side as she noted, "That's eerie." Taking a drink of coffee she asked. "You think it's the League of Assassins?"

"First name that Bruce and I thought of," Barbara admitted, "but why? Talia Al Ghul and her people don't give a damn about the Penguin, unless he managed to insult them somehow."

"I remember him ogling my ass once," Dinah noted, "it really wouldn't surprise me if he did insult them somehow."

Babs had a moment of irritation at Penguin for doing that, but had to concede Dinah had a really nice ass. Shaking that off she continued, "It bothers me that it's almost too obvious. Especially with what Batgirl's done."

Both women exchanged satisfied grins at that comment. For over a year the new Batgirl had covertly infiltrated the League of Assassins, becoming close to Nyssa as well. In the process she had learned about the entire organization, the membership and everything else. She had reached through the years of hatred that had haunted Nyssa, and in the end actually turned her. The two women had fled the League and contacted Batman, handing him the data on the entire league.

The next few weeks had been crazy as the Birds of Prey, Batman and Robin and every ally they could grab raided the League. Together they shut down dozens of bases and captured hundreds of League agents, crippling the organization for the time being.

"Personally I'm not a hundred percent sure I trust Nyssa," Dinah noted, "she could be trying to pull something like Batgirl did." She shook her head, "But that's not really important. If it's not Talia, who else do you think it could be?"

"Anyone with a stock of antiquities and the right internal security," Babs admitted as she finished her coffee. "There are several secret societies who could do it, HIVE, the Order of St, Dumas, Vandal Savage's Illuminati and others," she said, disgusted.

"I thought that the Order of St. Dumas was gone?" Dinah asked, "I heard that Azrael managed to take them down."

"He defeated a splinter group," Babs corrected, "but the original group has stayed out of sight." She shrugged, "According to data I got from Manhunter they tried to create a earlier agent, but he went insane and became a assassin."

"What a mess," Dinah shook her head.

"Tell me about it," Barbara agreed.

Dinah looked at her boss curiously and asked, "Have you decided about what to do about the new Question?"

Babs looked at her thoughtfully, then shrugged at the change of subject. "You mean Huntress asked you to ask me?" she asked.

Dinah laughed quietly, "Yeah, pretty much. Huntress wants her on the team, and was wondering if you'd changed your mind."

"I get that Huntress likes her," Babs acknowledged that point, "and as a detective she brings some useful skills to the table. But she's tightly connected to Batwoman, and I still don't trust her to put our objectives first."

Dinah thought about speculating how tightly connected the two women were, but decided to save that for later. "Why don't you trust Batwoman?" she asked instead.

"I knew the original Batwoman back in the day," Babs said quietly after a moment, "her murder at the hands of the League of Assassins was a tragedy. I don't like a new heroine taking the name."

Dinah sighed, knowing how she felt somewhat. As a legacy hero who knew the earlier generation of heroes she understood about new people taking on old names, and how it could feel like a betrayal. Still she said, "Babs, doesn't she deserve to be judged on her own merits?"

"I suppose," Babs pouted, looking adorably cute.

Part of Dinah wanted to sweep Babs up in her arms and take her back to the bedroom just off the nearby hall. The blond firmly stepped on that emotion, knowing at least part of her basic reaction was from her recent break up with Oliver Queen, Green Arrow.

"Just think about it," Dinah asked, finishing off her now cool cup of coffee. Deciding to stretch her legs she said, "I'm going out on patrol, do you want me to bring you back anything?"

"I will," Babs nodded, agreeing to consider it. She smiled a bit sheepishly as she asked, "Chinese from the usual place?"

Dinah laughed as she headed out, "You got it."

Babs watched her go, taking in Dinah's usual uniform of tight black leather jacket, leotard and fishnet stockings. She blushed and turned back to her computers, her heart racing a bit at the sexy sight. Rolling back to her computers, she silently cursed Oliver Queen for breaking the woman's heart once again.

Babs had... always been aware of how good looking Dinah was. And, in her private moments, she would admit to having had certain fantasies about a attractive blond. All perfectly natural, of course. And she had never used the mini camera she added to Dinah's uniform to watch her shower, change clothes or anything else. Because that would be just wrong.

Okay, yes, she HAD done it! But just once. Or maybe twice.

With a soft grunt of annoyance Babs opened up a series of files, reviewing data on another open case. Intergang was still out there, despite the efforts of her team and the Question, and she wanted this case closed. News articles by Dani Grayton had helped blow the lid off some of their other activities, in fact it looked like Gotham was getting too hot for them.

'So where would they run to?' Babs wondered. Tracing the money was always a good bet, and Babs soon hit several instances where Intergang members were buying property. Interestingly they were doing it in two places, Metropolis and Coast City.

Being a former member of the Justice League had resulting in Babs copying their database, which meant it was very easy to place the first phone call. The phone rang a moment, then was tiredly answered, "Hello?"

"Hal Jordan?" Babs smiled as her computers verified his voice print, "This is Oracle."

"Oracle?" Hal echoed, the man known as Green Lantern sounding alarmed. "Listen, if this is about the rumor that I and Lady Blackhawk..."

Oracle raised her eyebrows, amused. What had Zinda done now? "No, this is a business call," she said briskly, "what do you know about Intergang?"

"High tech crime gang," Hal noted as he quickly came awake, "has ties to the New Gods. What about them?"

"Well done," Oracle smiled. "Apparently they're buying up land in Coast City. I'll send the addresses to your PDA."

"My PDA is off and has security features...," Hal started right before it turned itself on obediently and pinged happily.

"And I'm Oracle," she answered smugly, "have a nice day."

As Babs signed off, she had a impish smile on her face. She didn't show off very often as Oracle, for various reasons, keeping her capabilities out of her allies view. But every now and then it was nice to remind people just what she was really capable of. Speaking of capabilities...

Superman blinked as his Justice League signal device went off, the ultrasonic chime tuned to his unique hearing. "Superman here," he answered as he soared above Metropolis.

"This is Oracle," she answered formally, "and yes, I know I'm not currently supposed to have access to these devices. However, the information I have for you may be important."

"Carry on," Superman banked, trying to 'see' where the transmission was coming from. Interestingly it had been bounced off a communications antenna to a satellite, then was lost in other streams of data. He knew who Oracle was, of course, but he was still impressed by the lengths she went to maintain security.

"It appears Intergang is on the move again," Oracle reported, "I've told Hal about their moving into Coast City, but they're also buying properties in Metropolis." She gave him the details, including one dangerously near the Steelworks run by John Henry Irons.

"I'll keep an eye out, thanks," Superman said.

Oracle signed off, stretching in her seat. A bit guiltily she sent a copy of the Intergang data file to Lois Lane too. If Superman was too ethical to directly act against the group now, she was certain that a determined reporter like Lane would investigate them. Either way, Intergang would be slowed down or stopped cold.

Barbara sighed as she rolled out of the computer core, having heard the chime that Dinah was coming back. She was looking forward to Chinese, as well as sharing Dinah's company. She felt a pang of guilt over her... liasons with Huntress, but tried not to think about it.

To be continued...

Notes: I established she was sleeping with Huntress earlier. I don't think it's too serious for either woman, considering Huntress is sorta putting the moves on Power Girl in another chapter. I'm loosely following Black Canary's status in DC Comics, though I'm putting my own slant on it.

Babs having a attraction to Dinah is semi-canon, with a lot of unintentional femslash tossed in. Chuck Dixon, the first Birds of Prey writer, has said he was against including hints they were lesbians, but many artists on the title loved putting them in suggestive scenes.


	26. Batman

In the Shadow of the Bat

Batman

Batman swung over the bustling Gotham streets, his lack cape fluttering in the breeze. The cowl his his expression, mostly, but he couldn't help a slight smile as he enjoyed the freedom of patrolling his city. He reached a ledge and landed, bracing himself against the building as he retracted the rocket launched cable.

It was quiet, tonight, but the black and gray clad man didn't expect it to last. There was a murder a minute in some cities, and Gotham was worse than most. The police were kept busy constantly with the day to day cases, leaving the more unusual things to him and others like him.

Thinking of that Batman frowned thoughtfully. He had received a report that Jason Todd was active in New York, fighting crime with his usual lethal style. Bruce's former partner was his responsibility, but he also wasn't harming innocents. And Batman wondered if confronting him would serve any good at all?

A scream echoed in the night, and instantly Batman was off. He raced down the ledge and threw a bat-line, swinging between buildings effortlessly. With almost supernatural speed he homed in on the cry, climbing fire escapes and racing across rooftops. He reached the source of the cry and paused for a moment, assessing the situation.

A faint smile teased his lips as Batman recognized the blonde in the short mini skirt, pretending to be scared. The young men followed her down the alley, unaware they were falling into a trap. Once they were far enough in Zinda Blake, also known as Lady Blackhawk, whistled and Black Canary and Huntress blocked the entrance.

"We aren't happy about you attacking women in town," Zinda cracked her knuckles, "and now we're gonna have to take steps."

Batman hid a smile as the three charged the thugs and began delivering a heroic beating. Satisfied the situation was well in hand he headed off, continuing his patrol. He had memorized the path between buildings, even with the rebuilding after No Man's Land, and could move with the ease of a man taking a evening stroll. Though admittedly this was a stroll from forty or more stories high above the city streets.

And his patrol overlapped with others, too. Batwoman was a flash of black and red swinging from a tower with military precision. He strongly suspected who she was, but hadn't pushed on finding out. She had protected Gotham when he was gone, which earned some credit with him.

Nightwing gave a cheery wave as the blue and black clad man bounded by, and Batman couldn't help but smile back. Dick Grayson had been his first partner as Robin and in some ways was the best. But in the end Dick had outgrown him and had to strike out on his own, eventually creating the identity of Nightwing.

Batman landed on a older building, then crouched atop a stone gargoyle as he surveyed his surroundings. He wasn't far from the East End, and a recently rebuilt church wasn't far away. For a moment he was tempted to visit the church and Jean-Paul, but firmly refused the urge.

When Batman considered his mistakes over the years, he thought that how he treated Jean-Paul was one of the worst. They had met when the boy was transformed into Azrael the first time, and he had helped break him from the conditioning he was under. But then Bruce DIDN'T get Jean-Paul any psychactric help, foolishly thinking he was free of mind control. Batman was wrong, and when the conditioning kicked back in it did so at the worst time, when Azrael was acting as Batman temporarily. It nearly drove the young man mad, and ultimately Batman had to fight him for his own identity.

With a determined move Batman leaped off the edge of the roof, smoothly swinging out over the city. He activated the communications link in his cowl as he asked, "Robin, is there any movement with Batgirl and Nyssa?"

"They're visiting with Spoiler actually," Robin answered briskly, "and can I say I'm uncomfortable with spying on them?"

Batman bit back a chuckle. "Cass herself agreed to it," he said as he alighted on a rooftop and ran across before jumping again.

Batman was relieved that they were visiting Spoiler, actually. The young woman had been a good friend to both Cass and Robin, and he liked her spunk. No matter how annoying she could get at times.

"How is Oracle doing with the Penguin investigation?" Batman asked as he dropped down into a alley.

"I think we've hit a roadblock on the electronic side," Robin admitted reluctantly. "I think we'll need to do a more physical investigation into the situation."

"That was my conclusion too," Batman admitted as he smashed a mugger in the face calmly, sending him reeling backward away from his shocked victim, The other two men gazed in shock, then one foolishly charged him.

"Oh god," the young man breathed out as Batman calmly slugged the other mugger, dropping him with one punch.

"Busy?" Robin asked, hearing some of the fight over the radio.

"Just finishing up," Batman casually tied the muggers up then raced out of the alley, leaving the victim bemused but fine.

"Had a encounter with the Spider recently," Robin said cautiously, "what do you think of her?"

"She's not disciplined," Batman noted gruffly as he ran across the street, snagged a lamp pole with a bat-line then gained some altitude. "But I'll concede she had some natural talent," he admitted as he swiftly scaled a building.

Robin sounded amused as he noted, "Considering she's helped stop several villains in the city, I think she has potential."

Batman reached the roof, his cape fluttering around him as he took a second to catch his breath. "She's not committed to being a heroine," he noted mildly. "I'm personally concerned that she was trained to kill super humans," he said.

Robin wisely didn't argue, since he was well aware that Batman had helped prepare to fight and stop any superhuman who might go bad. Batman was quite willing to admit he was paranoid, but t was a healthy paranoia. Or at least, he hoped so.

"Dick just turned up," Robin noted, "my shift is up, do you mind if I go check in with the Teen Titans? We're getting some rumblings that Brother Blood is active again..."

"Go to it," Batman nodded as he said, "I'm confident you can handle it."

As he said that a spear of yellow light shone against the low clouds. After a moment t painted a glowing circle, with a black bat in the middle. With that Batman headed off, knowing that the police would only shine that signal if he was needed.

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

Dana Fox smiled wryly at Lucius Fox, the two very different people with similar names shaking hands in the office. The morning sun shone across Gotham, as the people hurried to work and business people like them held early meetings.

"I'm sorry we couldn't fit you in later, Dana," Lucius apologized as the African-American man waved her to a seat, "but you did say it was urgent."

"I appreciate you seeing me," Dana answered honestly as she sat down in front of the desk. "I know how busy the president of Wayne Enterprises must be."

"It's fine," Lucius waved that off casually. "Now, what can we do for you?"

"This is going to take some explaining," Dana smiled. "As you know, Fox Munitions is producing new stun ammunition for police and private security."

"Our own security forces are looking into your products," Lucius agreed.

"Well, we seem to be victims of our own success," Dana admitted ruefully. "I've got one factory going full out producing, and demand is exceeding supply. But unless I raise prices, I can't expand my manufacturing quickly enough to meet demand."

"Interesting," Lucius nodded, "and you want Wayne's help in increasing your production?"

"Yes," Dana said, taking a folder out of her briefcase and handing it over to him. "I would be willing to consider a limited partnership of some kind, though to be honest I'm hoping Mr, Wayne will simply offer me a loan."

"A partnership would benefit us more," Lucius noted, "but I can understand you wanting to keep full control of your parent's company."

Dana nodded, "Thank you."

Lucius put the documents down, having apparently skimmed them to his satisfaction. "It's a good proposal," he acknowledged, "but I can't promise anything." He sighed as he admitted, "Bruce has some... issues with guns."

It took Dana some effort not to say anything. She had her own issues, of course, and had been aware of the murder of Wayne's parents. Both of them had been shapped by past tragedies, but she felt she was trying to move forward with it. Wayne, she felt, was lingering in the past.

"And," Lucius admitted, "I have some issues with your agent, Paladin."

Dana kept her face mostly expressionless, but it was hard. She had adopted the identity of Paladin with the intention of just stopping the gangs blocking the building of her factory. But Hub City needed someone to fight for it, and she found she had the skills needed to do so.

"Paladin is a freelance heroine operating in Hub City," Dana said carefully, "and yes, my company is supplying her with her bullets and guns. We did so in exchange for her assistance in driving off the gangs, but she is continuing on her own."

Lucius looked amused, "Your plausible deniability kind of breaks down when you realize that your company is still supplying her ammunition."

"True enough," Dana conceded readilly. She leaned forward, "I was born in Hub City, Mr. Fox. I want to save it if I can, and at this point a vigilante looks like the only hope my town has."

"Batman's saved Gotham a few times," Lucius admitted, "even from itself." After a moment he said, "I'll pass this proposal onto the broard and Mr. Wayne. I can't promise anything, but I think this looks like a good deal both for us and your company."

They both rose, and Dana shook Lucius' hand. "That's all I was hoping for," she said sincerely. "I hope to hear from you soon," she said as she left.

Gotham by daylight reminded Dana of New York, if the gritty, bad part of town. She was tempted to see the sights, but instead decided it might be best to head back to her hotel. It had been a long night flight here, and she had other businesses to contact.

The Ritz was a high class hotel, and honestly not the sort of place she would have chosen. Still, as the head of a company she had a certain image to uphold, as much to inspire confidence in her company as anything else. She went to the upper floor room and unlocked the door, stepping inside and flipping the light switch.

It didn't work.

Before Dana could react a voice boomed out of the darkness like the wrath of god, "Come inside and close the door."

Dana did, then faced the shadowed figure, knowing instantly who it had to be. Batman stood in the shadows, a imposing figure who seemed cut out of the very shadows he inhabited. Swallowing her fear she walked in as she said, "I could call the police, charge you with criminal trespass."

"You could, Paladin, but you won't," Batman answered calmly. "I don't care for your methods, but so far you haven't killed anyone," he continued over her start of surprise. "Don't put that costume on and operate in my city. You'll regret it."

Before Dana could even react he was gone, slipping out the open window and swinging out into the night. She watched him go, her eyes wide, then softly murmured, "Wow."

To be continued...


	27. League of Assassins II

In the Shadow of the Bat

League of Assassins

Talia Al Ghul, the Demon's Head and leader of the League of Assassins HATED hiding. The tall, attractive brown haired woman stalked through the base, her expression grim as she headed for the control room. The others in the base avoided her, the agents knowing both that she was angry and not in the mood for conversation.

The workers at the computer terminals tried to look busy, the men and women all dressed in simply designed jump suits. Talia ignored them as she went to a terminal and sat down. She hesitated a moment, hands over the keyboard, then grimly hit the keys, calling up the latest updates on the damage to the League.

Once, the League of Assassins had bases around the globe, their people quietly infiltrating every walk of life. Across Asia, Europe, North America, South America, they even had bases in Antarctica and the North Pole. Sleepers waited everywhere to be activated for a assignment, then shut down until needed again.

But now... the map on the screen showed active bases as blue, inactive as red. And the amount of red on her screen was enough to make Talia grit her teeth in rage. North America was GONE, as far as the League was concerned. Batman and his allies in the Justice League, the Titans, Outsiders and others had swept up everything they had. Europe was crippled, though thankfully the Global Guardians were less thorough than the JLA was. It was hard to tell how bad China was going to be hit, as the Great Ten were still attacking their bases. She had issued evacuation orders for all their bases, just in case, but there was no way to know how many troops would survive.

The elite assassins were free, so that was something. Shiva had successfully escaped a attempt to capture her, and had taken her students with her. Shrike was a victim of the sweep, but frankly Talia didn't feel he was much of a loss. David Cain had recently revealed he was willing to take jobs from her, as were Merlyn and mad, blind Professor Ojo. New recruits White Canary and others were also free, though Talia wasn't sure if she could rely on them.

"My lady," a young man said to her respectfully, "outer sensors show incoming troops."

Talia cursed softly as she realized she had been so distracted by her thoughts not to pick up on it. She switched screens, then swore again as she saw forces crossing the desert towards them. "Evacuate the base," she ordered over intercom, "procedure omega."

Getting up from her seat Talia ordered her operatives to flee the control room, even as she mentally estimated how long they had. The attackers were members of the Global Guardians, she recognized the foolish costumes, along with military forces. Apparently they wanted the glory of her capture for themselves, rather than calling in the JLA.

Outside, the hero called Olympian tapped into the strength of Hercules and tore open the sand covered door to the secret headquarters. The mythic Golden Fleece gave him the powers of the legendary Argonauts, making him the powerhouse of the team. Behind him came Jack O'Lantern, Fleur-de-Lis and Owlwoman, along with a number of NATO troops.

Talia was faintly insulted that they only sent these heroes, though it was possible they didn't realize she was here. Either way, she intended to make them regret it.

Fleur-de-Lis advanced cautiously down the hall, her white and blue body covering costume bearing her namesake. "I don't like it," she said as they walked, "we should have waited for reinforcements."

Olympian laughed at that, the big, black haired man smiling under his golden ram-horn helm. "Don't be so timid," he chided her cheerfully, "it's just one woman. Besides, the most dangerous assassins are dead."

"No one found Shiva's body," Jack noted, hovering beside them with his glowing jack o'lantern in his hands.

Owlwoman stalked forward silently, her expression grim. She wasn't comfortable around Jack, what with the first version of the hero having been her boyfriend. Still, she tried to ignore it as she did her job on the team. Her hightened senses ranged outward, and she frowned as she said, "There's too many scents here, I can't track anything. We'll have to search the old fashioned way."

"Understood," Fleur-de-Lis said grimly.

"Then we'll just drive the rats from their holes," Olympian said cheerfully.

The base was eerily quiet as they advanced, the support troops fanning out to explore the side tunnels as the heroes headed down what they assumed was a main passage. There were almost no signs of human habitation, other than the scents Owlwoman was still picking up.

\ "Where are they?" Olympian finally growled out, feeling frustrated after nearly a half hour of useless searching.

"Well, it IS a base for assassins," Jack said, casting light into various dark corners, "it may not be set up like we thought."

Fleur-de-Lis touched a radio on her ear, concealed by her costume. "Squad one, report," she ordered, but got only static in reply.

Owlwoman activated her own cowl radio, "Squad one? Two? Report please."

No answer, and the super heroes exchanged nervous glances. "Are the radios being jammed?" Jack asked optimistically.

"My radio picked up Owlwoman," Fleur-de-Lis said after a moment.

Olympian looked at them in disbelief, "It HAS to be jamming. There's no way these killers could take out two squads of our best troops."

"Want to bet on that?" Jack said grimly, not liking the feel of this at all.

Advancing down the hall Owlwoman raised a hand, stopping them. "There's a laser cutting across the hall ahead of us, probably a trap," she said.

"Your enhanced vision comes in handy again," Fleur-de-Lis conceded as they carefully stepped around the beam. Her foot came down on a normal looking section of the floor, giving a loud click.

"Oh crap," Jack breathed out.

With that the floor dropped away from them, and both Fleur-de-Lis and Olympian fell down the shaft. Jack and Owlwoman could fly, escaping the fall, but neither were fast enough to catch their comrades before they were gone. And before they could chase after them the false floor snapped back into place, nearly chopping off Owlwoman's hand as she grabbed for Olympian.

"Damn it!" Owlwoman cursed. She extended her finger blades and slashed at the floor, but it didn't show a scratch.

Jack fired off a energy bolt, but it did nothing too. "I can track them with my lantern," he said, "but we need to find a access underground."

"Right, let's go," Owlwoman hurried to follow him, both dreading what might be happening to their comrades as they searched for them.

Fleur-de-Lis refused to scream as she and Olympian slid down the chute into the underground. She tried to grip the walls but they were all polished smooth, made of some artifical material. They dropped into a open room and splashed down in a puddle of fluid, something soft underneath them cushoning her fall.

Almost at the same time Olympian splashed down, bellowing in anger. They were stunned for a moment by the impact, but the bear of a man recovered fairly quickly, getting up and looking around angrily. "Come out and face me!" he bellowed.

Fleur-de-Lis tried not to be annoyed with him as she tried to assess their situation. They were in a large room, connected to two dark passages. The room was dimmly lit, and they were standing on something soft and kind of flexible. She looked down, activating her costume's night vision, then made a choking noise as she fought not to throw up in a full face mast.

Olympian slogged over to her as he asked, alarmed, "What ails you?"

"We're," Fleur-de-Lis managed to keep her gorge down, "we're standing on bodies. I think the troops we came in with."

Olympian looked down, his eyes widening in shock as he realized what they were standing in. Beneath a thin surface of water a man's face gazed up at him, and all around them other, bloated corpses lay in the water. He staggered away from Fleur-de-Lis and threw up, spewing against the wall.

It was the distraction of him being sick that let the woman sneak up on her. With no warning a hand yanked Fleur-de-Lis' head back, then a blade sawed across her throat. "Hurk!" she made a incoherent noise as the hand let her go, staggering a few steps as blood sprayed.

"Fleur!" Olympian cried out, charging towards the brown haired woman calmly standing amid the bodies, blood dripping down her simple clothes.

Talia casually stepped aside, dodging the big man's charge easily. "Killing your friend was too easy," she taunted him, "for a secret agent she was wide open. Will you be more of a challenge?"

Using his superhuman strength and speed Olympian tried to grapple with the woman, but she slid away like some kind of eel. She seemed no faster than a human, but somehow she read his intentions and was always a step ahead of him. He felt his frustration and anger growing, even though he knew it was making his attempts to catch her even harder.

Talia's knife flashed as he ran by, cutting his bare arms and making him bleed sluggishly. The blade was forged from Prometrium, the most indestructible substance known to man, but even it had difficulty piercing his skin. 'Damn magic,' she thought, deciding a different method was called for.

Olympian slipepd in the swelling bodies, struggling to keep his balance. This was maddening! She dodged his best attacks, a cool smile on her face and that strange knife flashing. The Golden Fleece helped heal him, but it shouldn't have been possible for her to hurt him at all. Was she a witch?

"She died because of you, you know," Talia taunted him, "she was distracted by you being sick." She laughed mockingly, "Being sick? Over bodies? What are you, a woman?"

Mouth open as Olympian bellowed in fury he charged the strange woman again, just as she intended. Instead of dodging she got in close, slipping something from her belt and tossing it into his mouth. The Olympian staggered to a stop as he tried to spit, but the capsule hit the back of his throat and he HAD to swallow or choke.

"What...," Olympian started, feeling a surge of panic as he wondered what he had swallowed.

"I wonder," Talia stepped back from his cautiously, knowing the explosive device would detonate in a moment, "if you are as invulnerable inside as out?"

Olympian looked at her in horror a moment, then within him there was a muffled boom. His mouth opened, blood pouring out then he simply fell sideways, much like a fallen tree.

"I guess not," Talia smiled coldly.

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

Barely ten minutes later Jack and Owlwoman found a access to the sub-basement, then discovered the hidden chambers beneath the base. They slogged through the rooms filled with corpses, some so old to be skeletons and others disgustingly fresh, until they found Olympian and Fleur-de-Lis.

"Fuck," Jack said weakly, his lantern lighting up the scene for them.

Owlwoman checked the bodies, but swiftly determined they were head. She rose, then froze as Fack's light passed over the far wall. "Shine it back over there," she ordered, and the writing covering the wall became visible.

"Beloved," it read, "all your attacks against me have done have made me stronger. For too long have I relied on others to do my dirty work. Now, I once again have blood on my hands. Thank you for reminding me of who I am." Under neath that was signed "Talia Al Ghul."

"This... I guess it's for Batman?" Jack guessed.

"I think so," Owlwoman said darkly, "but she will pay by our hands too."

To be continued...

Notes: Continuing the 'Assassins' plotline a bit. The Global Guardians are a canon team of heroes in the DC universe, though sadly they tend to get to be cannon fodder a lot. Talia is almost always a damsel in distress character, so I thought it might be nice to set up that she's a LOT more dangerous than people think.


	28. Outsiders

In The Shadow of the Bat

Outsiders

The Spider was doing her damnedest to convince herself she was NOT a superhero, but more and more she realized she was failing. Teresa Ludlow-Dalt became the Spider to save herself from crazed fans of the Seven Soldiers of Victory, a team that had been betrayed by her father the original Spider. Using a mini crossbow and natural athletic ability she had survived several attacks be the cult, and had even found herself doing heroic things when needed. But she was NOT a superhero.

The problem was, OTHER people were becoming convinced she was a hero. Members of the JSA had approached her. She had regular conversations with a few cops in the Gotham PD. The Teen Titans scouted her but decided she was too old (thank goodness). It was getting pretty crazy.

And now THIS.

The Outsiders were a odd, sort of 'b-list' group of heroes. First assembled by Batman they had been a powerful force of heroes. But after he left the group they became rather aimless, and drifted into the lower level of heroes. Worse they developed a reputation for disaster., members dying and turning against the team, wreaking havok. And now it appeared they wanted to recruit her.

Halo aka Violet Harper seemed like a nice kid, the pretty blond haired woman dressed in a skirt and blouse. Beside her the heroine Katana looked much more serious. Tatsu Yamashiro dressed in a formal woman's suit and carrying a briefcase.

"Thank you for agreeing to see us," Halo beamed cheerfully.

"Indeed," Tatsu agreed.

Teresa nodded to both women respectfully, though to be honest she rather dreaded what they might be here to do. "You're welcome," she said, "and I understand you had information for me?"

Tatsu opened the case and took out some papers. "You contacted our leader Geo-Force about Ludlow-Dalt activities in Markovia," she passed the papers over, "it seems one of your ancestors was quite busy there."

Teresa brightened, "Oh, thank you!"

The files were as impressive as she hoped. The Ludlow-Dalts had escaped crimes in Europe by retreating to Markovia, in the process coning the prince at the time. He had managed to string along the Royal family for nearly a decade, then his criminal activities were discovered and he was expelled.

"Did that help?" Halo asked curiously, looking at Teresa thoughtfully.

"It fills a gap," Teresa admitted, "I've been trying to track this one down after he encountered the Shade and escaped."

"He also had children there," Tatsu noted, "and sadly his infamy was carried down the bloodline."

Teresa really wasn't sure she wanted to know, but... "Yes?" she asked.

"Doctor Helga Jace was one of his descendants," Tatsu noted calmly, "and in the end she betrayed the Outsiders to the Manhunters."

Teresa sighed. She really wanted to believe you could triumph over your ancestry, but her family tree seemed to show the opposite. If you carried Ludlow-Dalt blood, it seemed pretty damn likely you would go bad at one point or another.

Halo clearly read her reaction, because the pretty blond reached over to pat her hand. "Not that that means anything..."

Before Teresa could react a voice yelled. "GET AWAY FROM MY GIRLFRIEND!"

Teresa jerked in surprise as a young woman with brown hair just... burst from the back of the cafe, literally flying on gusts of air. Reflexedly Teresa grabbed her mini-crossbow from her bag as she blurted, "What the hell."

"Windfall," Tatsu said grimly. She looked at Halo, "I thought you two..."

"We talked!" Halo said quickly, "I thought I convinced her..."

The next wind burst nearly blasted Teresa and Tatsu off their feet, even as the room itself shook dangerously. Windfall soared in, grabbing for Halo even as the young woman cried, "You promised we'd always be together, Halo!"

"Messy breakups are always so embarassing," Teresa muttered as she picked up a chair and clocked the flying girl.

The impact sent Windfall flying. Sadly it ALSO got the attention of her friends, who got rather angry at seeing their pall get hit. A massive man made of stone, a firey guy and a woman with water powers charged them, looking pissed.

"Oh dear," Tatsu said, drawing her namesake Katana and taking up a battle pose.

Halo blew out a wall with one enegy blast, then used a forcefield to shove the attackers back. "Run!" she yelled.

"I thought the Masters of Disaster broke up?" Teresa asked as they bolted out the hole, the young woman recognizing the villains from her research.

"You are well informed," Tatsu nodded, "and I had thought they were gone for good too. Though these do not seem to be the originals..."

"So that's Windfall, and I think that's her sister New Wave," Teresa noted, loading up a exploding arrow and firing it at the giant stone guy, "who are the others?"

"Ah'm Rubble!" the stone man declared as he charged towards them, his steps actually making the ground shake.

"I was Sparkler before Dr. Light killed me," the blazing man snarled, "now I'm Blowtorch!"

Before the group could hit the three women a bolt of power exploded down from the sky, hammering the self named Rubble into the ground, hard. "Reinforcements have arrived!" Black Lightning cried as he lead several members of the Outsiders in as reinforcements.

Thunder, his daughter, hit the ground hard and smiled coldly as the concrete buckled. "Gentlemen, ladies," she said, "I strongly advise you to surrender before someone gets hurt."

"Give me Halo and the fight ends," Windfall demanded.

"Give!" New Wave repeated, glaring madly.

"I thought New Wave was the leader?" Teresa asked as she fired a trick arrow at Blowtorch, engulfing him in fire fighting foam.

"She was," Halo agreed a bit sadly as she used her power bolt to send New Wave reeling backwards, "but she pissed off Lex Luthor, I think. He did something to her water form that damaged her mind."

"Ouch," Teresa winced.

Black Lightning, Thunder, Halo, Looker, Grace and Katana worked together as a fine tuned machine, quickly disabling and capturing each Master of Disaster. It helped that Windfall and New Wave weren't exactly rational, so they weren't coordinating their team all that well.

"Look at me, sweety," Looker smiled, her eyes glowing as she used her psychic powers to entrance New Wave and calm her down.

Grace was not how Teresa envisioned a superhero, honestly. She was tattooed and rough around the edges, wearing street clothes rather than a costime. But her and Thunder we nt toe to toe with Rubble, hammering the stone man down until he finally collapsed.

Black Lightning put down Blowtorch with a lighning bolt, even as Teresa hit him with fore fire fighting foam. "Thanks," Black Lightning nodded to her.

"No problem. Hopefully that keeps him down," Teresa sighed.

"Give it up, Windfall," Halo plead as she and Katana surrounded the flying girl.

"Never! I won't give you up," Windfall raved, her eyes blazing angrilly, "I'll kill you all if you try to keep us apart!"

Katana, finally tired of the ranting, casually tossed her sword hilt first and with a eerie degree of accuracy clipped the girl in the head, knocking her out and sending her crashing to the floor. She hit the ground with a loud thump, even as Halo rushed to her side.

"Tatsu!" Halo said angrilly as she checked the girl for injuries.

"She was threatening to kill us all," Tatsu answered stonily, "and I disabled her with the minimum required force."

Teresa wasn't sure she wanted to get involved with a inner group spat, especially considering it didn't really involve her. Instead she tiredly nodded to Black Lightning and said, "Thanks for the help."

"No problem," the taller, very well built man smiled wryly as he said, "We were sort of shadowing Halo anyway, after we saw Windfall's stalker letters get more violent."

"What's her story?" Teresa asked curiously.

Black Lightning sighed tiredly. "Back when we first ran into the Masters, Windfall was a reluctant member, and Halo reached out to her," he said. "She even left the group and joined the Outsiders for awhile."

"But...?" Teresa prompted.

"The group disbanded for awhile, and Windfall started losing her grip. She became obsessive over Halo, and now..." he sighed and shrugged. Black Lightning added, "Anyway, I'm sorry you got caught up in this."

"It's fine," Teresa smiled slightly, "I'm getting used to it."

As they were talking the Gotham PD had arrives, and were bagging up the crooks in various containment systems. The cops here had a LOT of experience in containing crooks with unusual powers and abilities, and had methods to hold them all. Of course, considering the lax security in their jails, there was no way to know how long they'd stay captive.

"Good bye," Halo waved sadly as they hauled off the Masters in a paddy wagon, Windfall looking back at Halo sadly.

"And you wonder why she still thinks she has a chance with you?" Grace asked wryly as she and Thunder stood close together. "Hey Dad!" Grace called to Black Lightning, "Can Thunder and I take off for a bit?"

"I wish you wouldn't call me that," Black Lightning sighed. "Yeah, it should be fine," he waved as the two women took off, walking closely.

"Dad?" Teresa had to ask, amused.

"They're dating and Grace kind of enjoys bugging me about it," Black Lightning admitted. "I don't mind it too much, and it makes the kids happy."

"He's a big softy, really," Looker teased, laughing.

"You fought beside us quite effectively," Katana noted to Teresa, having retrieved her namesake weapon and stashed it away. "Would you consider joining our team as the Spider?"

As Black Lightning, Halo and Looker all gazed at her expectantly Tewresa groaned mentally. 'How the hell do I turn them down politely?' she wondered.

To be continued...

Notes: I need a different way to get Teresa into trouble, since this is the third time I've had her get jumped meeting a source. Heh! This Outsiders kind of sidesteps some of the odd shit that happened One Year Later and so on.


	29. Penguin

In the Shadow of the Bat

Penguin

The church in Old Gotham was shining clean as the slim, blond haired man swept the floor with a old fashioned corn broom. Jean-Paul Valley liked the old fashioned tool, it fit his hands and the physical effort was satisfying.

With a peter-natural agility he used the broom like a staff, striking towards a figure in the shadows, then he stopped cold. "Oh," he smiled slightly, "it's you."

Batman stood, the broom handle aimed at his chest. If Jean-Paul had carried through with the blow he would have hit a nerve cluster, probably stunning or disabling him. It was good to see the younger man hadn't lost his touch.

Jean-Paul watched the black cloaked, almost gothic looking hero standing in the shadows of his church and wondered how much of a fool he had been, running around dressed in a outfit like that while fighting crime. Though he supposed Batman did some good, even if it was mixed with the trappings of cosplay.

"It's good to see you, Jean-Paul." Batman said, "Though I wish you had told me what you planned to do when you dropped out of sight." He hesitated, "Cass, especially, was worried about you."

Jean-Paul winced slightly. He and Cass had been good friends... and yes, he probably did owe her a explanation. "I'm sorry I just disappeared like that," he conceded. "Can I get you a coffee or something?" he asked, realizing he had been amiss in his duties as host.

Batman looked amused at getting the 'I love Gotham' mug but sipped the coffee willingly. Not bad coffee either, better than the ones he got at the Gotham Police Department. "So," he asked mildly, "what happened?"

"I had a... realization, I suppose," Jean-Paul quietly admitted, "I spent the last several years entirely defined by what I was doing while dressed in crazy costumes. I had totally lost track of who I was other than Azrael."

"Hmm," Batman made a non-commital noise.

"I guess that wouldn't be a issue for you," Jean-Paul conceded wryly. "Anyway, after some soul searching I ended up in a monastery, and eventually took my vows as a priest."

"You haven't drawn on the funds I set up for you," Batman noted thoughtfully.

"I relied on you a long time," Jean-Paul shrugged then gestured around the church, "and I wanted to build something on my own."

"And you didn't contact me because...?" Batman wondered, drinking some coffee.

"I wasn't planning on putting the costume on again," Jean-Paul shrugged slightly, "and if you wanted to find me, I was sure you could."

"Point," Batman conceded.

Jean-Paul sipped a bit of his coffee then asked, "So, why are you here? I doubt you dropped in just to chat."

Getting down to business Batman said, "There's a new crime lord in town. We don't have too much details yet, but they've killed Cobblebot and apparently claimed the Penguin name."

"Huh," Jean-Paul's head nodded slightly.

"Whoever they are, they have money and resources," Batman continued, "and they appear to be interested in you."

THAT surprised Jean-Paul enough to nearly drop his coffee. "How so?" he asked seriously.

"They've put out a reward for information on you, as well as tapped into online and other sources of data," Batman said. "We don't know their motives yet, but it can't be good."

Jean-Paul grunted softly. "I didn't think I'd pissed anyone off recently," he mused. With a sigh he asked, "Do you think it's the Order of St. Dumas?"

Batman looked annoyed, faintly. "I though we destroyed it?" he asked dryly.

"It's a thousand year old secret society," Jean-Paul noted with a shrug, "it's a good bet they had more than one branch. We know they had internal splits before, after all."

"True," Batman conceded. He turned away, moving off into the shadows as he added, "It's good to have you back. Take care."

"Huh," Jean-Paul smiled, slightly touched. Of course, now he had to worry about the Order being after him again, but it was kind of nice to reconnect with Bruce.

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

Oracle was frankly annoyed with herself once Batman informed her of his meeting at Jean-Paul's church. "I should have considered the Order as a suspect in financing the new Penguin," she conceded with a scowl. Selling off a priceless sword for seed money? OF COURSE it was the order. It was obvious.

Batman's voice came over the secure radio, "We thought they were gone, or if not gone at least no longer our problem." A pause, "We were wrong."

"I'll re-do my searches into the Penguin taking into account a Order of St Dumas connection," Barbara noted as she set things into motion, "but I can't promise any new results. The thing about secret societies like this is that they are very good at being secret."

"Understood," Batman answered, "I'll shake down the usual underworld sources."

"Good luck," Barbara said as he signed off.

The problem with computers, even the terribly advanced ones that Oracle used, was that Garbage IN, Garbage Out still applied. Biases and assumptions could skew data, as well as produce inaccurate results. Oracle was going to have to throw out all her earlier work, not knowing if it was biased or not, and start over. Aggravating, but necessary.

The Iceberg Lounge, home of the original Penguin before his untimely death, was being run by a property management company. Their files were a open book, but didn't lead anywhere useful in this case. Cash payments, and the only leads from them were a nondescript man in security photos.

The criminal operations the Penguin had run, interestingly, were all apparently in decline. He had, admittedly, already become a minor player in Gotham crime, but even that was going down. The drug dealing, people smuggling and so on had all been left to wither away. All that was still functioning were his legal businesses...

'Which makes you wonder why someone would take over a criminal organization only to let it die?' Barbara wondered. Though admittedly the legit businesses were quite successful and were providing good money to whomever was running all this.

Each legit company was controlled by another, and another behind that, all seeming shell companies. Several were created using the simple method of filing incorporation papers and infusions of large amounts of cash. Shady as hell, but there was always someone you could bribe in Gotham. She ran a list of the company names through her computers and got a commonality... all the shell companies were named after Bible references.

"Figures," Babs muttered.

As she kept her computers working she considered the other cases she was working. The League of Assassins search was still ongoing, but Talia was both sneaky and very very dangerous. Several police services had suffered ambushes, and super teams who were caught off guard suffered serious losses. Talia had clearly taken the kid gloves off and no longer cared about the consequences.

The Paladin had been sighted in Gotham, the gun weilding crime-fighter preventing a armored car heist. Batman, frankly, was less than pleased, though Babs herself hadn't made up her mind yet She had nearly as many issues about guns as Bruce did, but the heroine seemed intent on not killing her foes. And the unique guns and bullets were VERY effective.

"Remind me to talk to Dad about her," Babs murmured to herself.

The computer chimed, and Babs rolled her wheelchair over to read the results. Or lack thereof, sadly. Nothing new, even factoring in the Order of St. Dumas connection. It looked like they were just going to have to dig things up with old fashioned field work.

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

Rene Montoya ran a private investigation company, though it was mostly a cover for her activities as the Question. Most of her time was focused on cases for the Question, and she was paid through funds of the Justice League. She also took work from the Gotham City Police Department, through Commissioner Gordon. There were still crooked cops, and he needed someone outside the system to check on them.

THIS however, smelled. Badly.

The client was a guy. BIG guy, with callused hands and a lot of muscle. But he didn't move like a farmer or a laborer, instead he had that... oddly catlike walk of a long time soldier. Or a warrior, anyway. And he seemed damned uncomfortable in his off the rack business suit.

Still, Rene figured it might be interesting to hear the guy out. "Take a seat, please," the smaller woman said, waving him towards the chair in front of her desk. "Mr...?" she asked

"Thank you," he said stiffly. He hesitated, "John McCoy."

Rene sat behind the desk. It was a older desk, but big and sturdy, and in her spare time she had polished out the scuffs and marks. It was a position of power, which she used, especially in cases where she was dealing with a client she was... concerned about.

'Fake name?' Rene wondered. He didn't seem comfortable using it. Putting her hands in front of her Rene politely asked, "What can I do for you?"

The man put his obviously new briefcase on the desk, opening it to get out a file. "It'a a missing person's case," John said, passing it over.

"Huh," Rene murmured as she looked over a very slim file and a photo of a young man. Jean-Paul Valley? The name sounded familiar, but didn't ring any loud bells. "Why do you want to find him?" she asked curiously.

John frowned a bit, "Do you need to know that?"

Rene added another note to the 'something's wrong' column. Patiently Rene said, "It mostly relates to how hard he'll be to find. If he's done something wrong, he may be hiding out."

"He has not done anything wrong," John insisted, "he was a valuable employee of my company, and we want to find him. That is all."

'He might actually be telling the truth there,' Rene noted. "You know my fees?" she asked. When he shook his head she continued, "Two hundred a day, plus expenses and the first week in advance as a retainer."

"Is a thousand in cash acceptable?" he asked, calmly taking out a envelope from his case and passing it over.

Rene took it, opening the flap a moment to confirm the cash was in there. Confirming it was she nodded, "Well, looks like you've hired yourself a detective. Would you like to meet here in a week for a report, or...?"

"Here would be fine," John agreed, getting up. "Thank you for your help."

Once he left Rene quickly slipped on her jacket and went out her window onto her fire escape. The warning bells in her mind had been ringing non-stop, and she really wanted to see where he went. She tailed him about a block, then blinked as a limo pulled up, the doors opened and he climbed in, racing off into the evening.

"Huh," Rene grunted, noting the licence plate number. Things were getting more interesting by the moment.

To be continued...

Notes: Batman does not GET Jean-Paul's having issues with his life being devoted to costumes because for him, BRUCE is the costume, more or less. This is canon for the Batman animated universe, and most Batman comics writers follow this as well.


	30. Doctor's Rounds

In the Shadow of the Bat

The Doctor's Rounds

Mortimer Drake, the adventurer once called the Cavalier, smiled slightly as the handsome black haired man shadowed his employer in the clinic run by Leslie Thompkins. The Martha Wayne Memorial Clinic was financed by the Wayne foundation, providing medical services to those in need, and it's head doctor, Leslie, put in long hours. Mortimer's main job was to keep her safe, not always a easy task.

"Mort, you don't need to keep shadowing me," Leslie complained as she finished splinting a young gangster's arm.

Mortimer kept a eye on the other kids, as well as looking around for the rival gang. "You know I'm being paid quite well by the Wayne trust. Besides, you have a distressing lack of situational awareness," he noted wryly.

Leslie grunted softly as she finished up with the boy. "Please try not to be back here too soon?" she asked hopefully.

"Do what I can," the young man answered uncomfortably.

Thankfully the rest of the gang didn't rob the place. And the rival gang was nowhere to be found. Two small favors. Mortimer watched Leslie close up, at last, noting it was nearly eleven o'clock. But she probably wasn't done for the night.

"Where to now, Ma'am?" Mortimer asked politely.

"Would it kill you to call me Leslie?" the older woman complained.

Quite deadpan Mortimer replied, "Yes, actually."

Leslie snorted in amusement. "I have some errands to run before I go home," she admitted, "you're welcome to clock out, though."

"No, I think young Mister Drake would have my head if I did that," Mortimer shook his head.

They ended up checking on Spoiler first. Leslie had a almost motherly relationship with the heroine, the two having bonded when they went to Africa together. Personally Mortimer found her smart mouthed and abrasive, but there was no accounting for taste.

Steph smiled, "Still got the B-lister following you?"

"The pay is good," Mortimer shrugged, pretending the insult didn't sting a bit.

"No bullet wounds this time," Leslie noted, "good. I hear you are working with Tarantula?"

"Somewhat," Steph agreed, "I'm hoping to help her reform."

"Well, be careful," Leslie cautioned, "Nightwing refuses to talk about his time working with her at all, which is quite unusual for him."

"Agreed," Steph nodded, "I'll do my best."

Leslie smiled fondly and ruffled the girl's hair before heading out. Mortimer looked at her thoughtfully as they returned to the street, "You care a lot about her."

"I do," Leslie admitted readily, "I never had kids, but if I had a daughter I'd like her to be like Steph."

Mortimer nearly made a 'granddaughter' crack, but decided it wouldn't be wise. "Are we checking on Ms Kyle tonight?" he asked politely. Of course they both knew she was Catwoman, but neither would say that. Politeness.

"Yes she has a new lost lamb she wants me to check over," Leslie noted wryly.

"Hmm," Mortimer mused as they caught a cab. There were rumours about Ms Kyle's interests... sadly nothing proven. Which would have been hot.

The Community Center wasn't all that far from Leslie's clinic, but it was in a worse neighbourhood, with more run down buildings and crime. He kept a wary eye out as they headed inside, even though his trouncing of the last mugging attempt had convinced the locals to stay back.

"Hey, Doc!" Holly waved cheerfully as the older woman came in. She frowned at the man, "And Mort."

"Yo," Mort waved back, deadpan.

Leslie ignored that byplay, hugging Holly briskly. "You called?" she asked curiously.

"A friend of mine fainted while we were running the soup kitchen today," Holly explained, "I was hoping you could take a look at her?"

"Certainly," Leslie agreed.

The pale albino was not what Mort expected, the young woman looking embarassed over being fussed over. He judged she was young, in her twenties, and was dressed in what looked like second hand clothes. Nothing wrong with that, of course, but...

"You don't need to do this," Mary Scott smiled, trying to wave Leslie off.

"Don't worry, no cold instruments," Leslie teased genially. She looked over at Mortimer, "Could you wait outside."

Mortimer was tempted to refuse, but it was mostly instinct. The girl reminded him of Joker and Harley Quinn. "I'll be right outside the door," he promised.

It took a agonizing ten minutes for Leslie to emerge, looking thoughtful. "Well?" Holly demanded impatiently.

"She's got nothing seriously wrong with her," Leslie said honestly, "my best guess would be she's somewhat malnourished."

"Huh?" Holly blinked.

"She's eating enough, I think, but she needs some specific things because of her albinism that she isn't getting," Leslie noted. "I'll write you up a list."

"You really don't need to...," Mary protested, having followed her out.

Holly shook her head, "I thought you looked a bit wobbly earlier. I should have done something about it then."

Mortimer was faintly amused as he watched the situation, then frowned as the doors to the center popped open and a cop hustled in. "Mary, you okay?" the woman asked, hurrying over.

"I'm fine, Cathy," Mary reassured her.

Cathy Hendrix, Mortimer identified her by the name tag, was clearly more than a friend as she looked at Mary worriedly. It reminded him of a old film, as Cathy took the other woman's hands and looked into her eyes. Leslie looked on, amused, while Holly cleared her throat.

"Thank you for coming," Holly told Leslie wryly.

"I'm glad to help," Leslie said honestly. Curiously she asked, "Is Selina...?"

"Out," Holly shrugged and Leslie nodded knowingly.

Mortimer chuckled softly. Either she was out Catwomaning, or possibly screwing Batman. Possibly both at the same time. Checking his watch he nodded to Leslie, "I hate to interrupt, but..."

Leslie sighed, "I have to go. Give Selina my regards, please."b

"Will do," Holly agreed.

The two headed outside, and Mortimer felt a presence. The hair on the back of his neck went up, just like when... he looked up, as the dark figure swooped down. "Behind me, ma'am," he ordered even as he braced himself.

Batman hit the ground in a swirl of his cape, then calmly stood. Dressed in black, gray and blue he was a ominous figure, deliberately looking like some creature from a horror movie. Mortimer knew he was human, knew there was a flesh and blood man under that costume, but even he was unnerved a little.

"Doctor Thompkins," Batman said in that deep voice he used, "you shouldn't be out this late."

"Oh, tosh," Leslie ignored that as she advanced on him. "You haven't been to the clinic lately. Are you all right, Br.. Batman?"

"I'm fine," Batman brushed it off, actually looking a bit embarrassed.

Mortimer bit back a smile, then gruffly said, "You know each other, I take it."

"We do," Batman agreed, staring down at him through the cowl lenses that made his eyes look eerily blank.

Mort met them defiantly, not letting on how much they unnerved him.

Batman actually smiled faintly. "Good luck, I hope you can stay on the straight and narrow this time," he said as he took a step or two away.

Before Mortimer could react there was a soft whoosh of compressed air then Batman disappeared into the sky, pulled by a launched cable. "Damn," he muttered, wishing he could get in the last word with the caped crusader.

"I think he likes you," Leslie teased, "he's your special Bat-friend."

"Please, no," Mortimer sighed. He looked at the older woman, "Can you go home now? I need a rest. A LONG rest."

Leslie snickered. "Actually, I wanted to check on one other friend," she admitted, "but I think it can wait until tomorrow."

"Thank you," Mortimer smiled gratefully. "Shall I call a car?" he asked.

"Please," Leslie agreed.

To be continued...

Notes: Not as long as planned, but not bad. Leslie doing her rounds WOULD have included a visit with Tim Drake and Cass Cain, but maybe later.


End file.
